Kansas State basketball outlasts Oklahoma State in defensive battle: Three takeaways
MANHATTAN — Kansas State had to scratch and claw the whole way, but in the end, a sellout crowd at Bramlage Coliseum went home happy.
In sharp contrast to their high-scoring first three Big 12 games, the Wildcats were in a defensive battle with Oklahoma State from start to finish Tuesday night as they escaped with a 65-57 victory over the Cowboys.
No. 13-ranked K-State (No. 11 Associated Press) improved to 15-1 overall and 4-0 in the conference, while Oklahoma State fell to 9-7 and 1-3. Just four games into conference play, the Wildcats have already eclipsed last year's overall win total of 14.
Next up for the Wildcats is a trip to Fort Worth on Saturday to face TCU.
The Wildcats were led in scoring by Markquis Nowell with 20 points, Keyontae Johnson with 12 and Desi Sills with 11 off the bench. Kalib Boone had 23 points and Caleb Asberry added 15 to lead Oklahoma State.
Here are three takeaways from yet another Wildcat victory:
Wildcats show their versatility
After lighting it up on offense to start the conference play, K-State found points much harder to come by against a tenacious Oklahoma State defense.
To their credit, the Wildcats showed that they could win a rock fight as well, outlasting the Cowboys with some lock-down defense of their own. Oklahoma leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense.
K-State held the Cowboys to 33.3% shooting in the game and a chilly 22.9% in the second half, while shooting just 35.6% themselves. The Wildcats also outscored OSU, 14-8, from the free-throw line.
After the Wildcats built a 10-point lead midway through the second half, Oklahoma State roared back to get within one, 56-55, on a Chris Harris 3-pointer with 3:53 left. The Cowboys even had the ball twice with chances to take the lead, but K-State forced a shot clock violation and then a missed 3-pointer.
The Wildcats closed the game on a 9-2 run.
Big-time players step up at crunch time
Nowell and Johnson, who were the main offensive catalysts during K-State's 3-0 conference start, both struggled mightily in the first half, but came to life after intermission.
Johnson especially had a rough time against Oklahoma State's physical defense, making just one of his seven shots and going 1-for-2 at the free throw line. Nowell had a pair of 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes but was just 2-of-6 overall.
But in the second half, it was the two seniors who led the charge, and also provided a highlight-reel moment with 39.1 seconds left that may have sealed the deal.
With 1:07 left, the Cowboys pulled within 3 points, 60-57, on a Woody Newton dunk and then called timeout. But with the shot clock winding down on K-State, Nowell lobbed a pass to the left side of the backboard that Johnson grabbed with one hand and jammed it through at the 39.1-second mark.
Johnson made all four of his shots in the second half and also grabbed six rebounds overall. Nowell was 4-of-6 after and scored 14 points after the break, including three 3-pointers. Sills again played the role of super sub.
Wildcats show home-court jitters
K-State was coming off a pair of big road victories over Texas and Baylor and the students were back in town, so Bramlage Coliseum was rocking with a sellout crowd.
That's exactly what Jerome Tang wanted, but he also sounded a cautionary note during his pregame news conference on Monday.
"The thing about playing in front of a big crowd, if you're not used to it, sometimes the guys get so (hyped) up and it almost wears them out early," Tang said.
That was especially evident on offense for the Wildcats, who shot just 32.3% in the period. But thanks to a Cam Carter corner 3-pointer at the buzzer and a 5-1 advantage at the free-throw line, they only trailed 32-30 at the break.
The Wildcats settled down in the second half and were able to finally create some separation down the stretch.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State basketball edges Oklahoma State 65-57 in defensive battle
