Kevin McCullar scores career-high 34 points as Jayhawks beat pesky Yale, 75-60

No. 2 ranked Kansas will take a sparkling 11-1 record into what figures to be a festive 3 1/2-day Christmas vacation for the players and coaches.

Kevin McCullar scored a career-high 34 points and Nick Timberlake added 13 points as the Jayhawks upended pesky Yale of the Ivy League 75-60 on Friday night at Allen Fieldhouse.

The Jayhawks, however, certainly weren’t guaranteed a carefree holiday much of this game.

Yale, which hit five threes the first half to KU’s two, led by 11 points (25-14) with 6 minutes, 19 seconds left in the half.

McCullar, who had 14 points while playing 18 of the initial 20 minutes, led a furious comeback. KU outscored Yale 18-8 the remainder of the half and lagged by just one, 33-32, at halftime.

Hunter Dickinson had 10 rebounds and eight points and Dajuan Harris 10 points for the Jayhawks, who now scatter to their hometowns for Christmas break

They will return to practice in Lawrence on Tuesday night in preparation for one final nonconference game. KU will meet Wichita State at 3 p.m., Dec. 30, at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

After that, the Jayhawks will open Big 12 play against TCU on Jan. 6 in Lawrence.

Bez Mbeng scored 13 points and August Mahoney 13 Friday for Yale, which dropped to 7-6.

Here are some takeaways from Friday’s game. …

Yale not afraid

The mid-major Bulldogs forced KU to call a timeout after they hit their first three to grab a 15-11 lead at 11:34.

Big man Danny Wolf (11 points, six boards) had four early points, one on a spin move drive through the lane. He also hit a 3 in the half that gave Yale a stunning 25-14 advantage.

Yale led 17-14 with 7:55 left in the first half, KU losing a scoring opportunity when 7-footer Dickinson missed a dunk.

The Bulldogs expanded the lead to 25-14 as Wolf hit a huge, deep 3-pointer with 6:19 left in the first. That was Yale’s biggest lead of the half, KU cutting it to one point by halftime.

Yale didn’t go away as the Bulldogs maintained their one-point lead (39-38) at the first TV timeout of the second half.

The Jayhawks finally took the lead, 43-42, on an inside bucket by Dickinson off a pass from Elmarko Jackson with 11:30 left in the second half.

KU doesn’t need Furphy to defeat Bulldogs

Johnny Furphy, KU’s 6-9, 202-pound freshman guard from Australia, wasn’t on hand to provide depth. He was granted an excused absence because of a family commitment in Australia.

Furphy — he headed back home after last Saturday’s win at Indiana — missed five practices as well as the game.

Furphy has averaged 5.3 points and 2.5 boards in 13.2 minutes per game.

KU’s Nick Timberlake, Jamari McDowell and Parker Braun comprised KU’s scholarship bench players on Friday. Timberlake hit three 3s.

Self has said Furphy will return to Lawrence with his teammates on Tuesday night.

Huge crowd for pre-Christmas game

Allen Fieldhouse was full for the Yale game despite the students being on semester break.

Recruit in the house

A highly-regarded high school junior, Sebastian Williams-Adams, attended the game on an unofficial recruiting visit.

Williams-Adams, a 6-7, 215-pound small forward out of St. John’s High School in Houston, is ranked No. 33 in the recruiting class of 2025 by ESPN.com and No. 96 by 247sports.com.

He has KU, Kansas State. Houston, Arkansas, LSU and others on his early list of prospective schools.

Outmanned Ivy

The Kansas Jayhawks are now 18-0 all-time against Ivy League competition. KU is 4-0 versus Yale.