LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Dedric Lawson had 18 points and 14 rebounds to cement his front-runner status for Big 12 player of the year, and No. 15 Kansas pounded No. 16 Kansas State 64-49 on Monday night to keep alive its hopes of a 15th consecutive conference championship.

Devon Dotson added 16 points and fellow freshman Quentin Grimes had 12 for the Jayhawks (21-7, 10-5), who moved within a game of the league-leading Wildcats (21-7, 11-4) with three to play.

Texas Tech, which roughed up the Jayhawks on Saturday, is a half-game back in second place.

There was a sense of desperation in the air inside Allen Fieldhouse, where Kansas — despite all the injuries and unrest this season — had not lost in 19 games. And it manifested itself in the kind of cutthroat defense that coach Bill Self’s teams have become accustomed to playing over the years.

The Wildcats shot just 32 percent from the field, struggled with turnovers at key junctures and never seemed as comfortable as they were at Bramlage Coliseum, where they roared past the Jayhawks nearly three weeks ago to seize control of the conference race.