LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Nick Collison was not about to let Kansas' first three-game losing streak in nine years occur on his watch.

So the senior center had the best game of his college career, scoring 24 points and grabbing 23 rebounds as (No. 13 ESPN/USA Today, No. 12 AP) Kansas held on for a wild 90-87 victory over No. 3 Texas Monday night.

		I have been fortunate to see lots of great performances during my career as a broadcaster. Monday night in Lawrence, Kansas, I saw All-American Nick Collison put forth one of the most special efforts I've ever seen. The Jayhawks needed a big-time performance from their experienced players, and Collison came through with 24 points and 23 rebounds against a tenacious, hungry Texas team. It was one of the best games of the season, as coach Roy Williams' team escaped with a much-needed W. More...

"I just made up my mind that I was going to be very aggressive,'' said Collison, who fouled out with a little more than 1 minute left. "We really needed a win. We really needed a lot of rebounds against a big, physical Texas team. I think it might be my best game.''

Coach Roy Williams was sure that it was.

"I don't know if I've ever seen a person be so relentless on the backboard as Nick Collison was,'' Williams said. "If those NBA scouts sitting over there tonight say there's anybody in the world with a bigger heart, then they're just blind.''

Students stormed the court, stomping and yelling after the Jayhawks (14-5, 4-1 Big 12) halted the eight-game winning streak of the Longhorns (13-3, 4-1).

"They didn't go completely crazy,'' Williams said. "I just wanted to get to the locker room so I could dance a little bit.''

Michael Lee made two free throws with 29 seconds left and Texas missed two 3-pointers in the final seconds, including one by point guard T.J. Ford who had 25 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

His 3-pointer at the buzzer was barely short.

"It looked like it was going in,'' he said. "I thought it was going to go into overtime.''

Kirk Hinrich had 25 points for the Jayhawks. After Kansas' Keith Langford missed two free throws with 10 seconds to go, Texas hurried down the court for the ill-fated 3s.

Texas coach Rick Barnes said the Longhorns did not do a good job on Collison.

"Twenty-three rebounds, that is huge coming from one guy,'' he said. "He did that single-handedly.''

During the final minutes of the back-and-forth contest, Brandon Mouton's short jumper brought Texas to 84-82. Then, with 2:05 to go, Aaron Miles hit from the outside before Ford drove the lane with 1:37 left.

When Collison fouled out, James Thomas made one free throw that left the Jayhawks clinging to an 88-85 lead.

Then after a Kansas miss, Mouton turned the ball over to the Jayhawks, who inbounded with 29 seconds left.

Lee was fouled immediately and sank both foul shots.

"They made tough shots,'' Ford said. "This is how it is every time against Kansas. Tonight, the game was really up and down.''

After Jeff Graves picked up his fifth foul, Thomas hit two free throws that made it 90-87 with 16 seconds left.

After getting to within one or two points four times, the Jayhawks finally took a 79-78 lead when Collison canned a long 3-pointer with 6:07 to go.

A moment later, he grabbed a Texas miss for his 20th rebound and Hinrich fed Miles for a fast-break layup that made it 81-78.

Brian Boddicker, in foul trouble much of the second half, had a career-high 20 points for the Longhorns. Mouton had 14 and Thomas 10.

"I just wanted to play as hard as I could,'' Collison said. "If I got tired, I was going to come out for a while and come back and play as hard again.''