West Virginia ends Kansas State basketball's four-game winning streak with 89-81 victory

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Kansas State's magic run is over, at least for the time being.

West Virgina used a big finish to the second half to grab the lead and then pulled away in the second half Saturday on its senior day to close the regular season with an 89-81 victory over the No. 11-ranked Wildcats at WVU Coliseum.

West Virginia shot 57.7% in the second half and 50.8 for the game, plus made 22 of 25 free throws overall. K-State shot just 38.9% in the second period.

The loss ended a four-game winning streak for K-State, which will take a 23-8 record to the Big 12 Tournament and finished with an 11-7 league record. West Virginia improved to 18-13, 7-11 in the league.

The Wildcats can be no lower than a No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Tournament since Baylor also lost Saturday at Iowa State.

For K-State, Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell both had big games with 24 points each. Johnson also had six rebounds, while all of Nowell's points came in the second half, to go with eight assists, six steals.

Nowell also turned the ball over six times.

It also was a big day for West Virgnia's seniors, as Erik Stevenson scored 27 points, with Kedrian Johnson adding 23, Emmitt Matthews 20 and Tre Mitchell 14.

Mountaineers up 10 late

K-State has cut it to 84-74 on a Cam Carter 3, but it's probably too little, too late.

Wildcats have no answer on defense

West Virginia is shooting 63% in the second half and now leads 78-65 with 5 minutes left.

K-State, meanwhile is shooting 31% in the period and has 17 turnovers.

Mountaineers pulling away

West Virginia extends its lead to 69-59 on an Erik Stevenson 3-pointer. The Mountaineers have hit 11 of 16 shots for 68.8% in the half to 7 of 23 for K-State. Stevenson has 21 points for West Virginia, Keyontae Johnson 24 for K-State.

West Virginia opens seven-point lead

West Virginia's pressure defense is taking its toll against K-State, which now has 16 turnovers. The Wildcats could use Desi Sills, who did not make the trip.

The Mountaineers have opened a 64-57 lead with 10:01 left. It's going to take another change in momentum for K-State to get back in this one.

First half of surges has West Virginia up, 39-37

After a back-and-forth first half filled with extended runs by both teams, West Virginia leads 39-37 at the break.

There were four ties and five lead changes in the half, but that doesn't tell the whole story. K-State had runs of 8-0 to start the game and 11 straight later to go up by 10 points, but West Virginia used a 17-5 spurt late to grab a lead and then scored the last four points.

K-State, which hit 10 of its first 13 shots, cooled off to finish the half at 51.6%, and turned the ball over 12 times. The Wildcats also forced 12 turnovers by West Virginia, which shot 45.5% and had an 8-2 advantage in second-chance points.

Keyontae Johnson had a big half for K-State with 16 points and five rebounds, but Markquis Nowell did not score, missing all three of his shots. Nowell did have seven assists and five steals, but turned the ball over five times as well.

For West Virginia, Emmitt Matthews had 14 points, Kedrian Johnson 11 and Erik Stevenson eight.

Fast second-half start for Mountaineers

West Virginia started the second half on a 9-4 run, but Markquis Nowell has hit two 3-pointer to keep K-State close at 48-44 with 15:54 left.

Those were the first points of the game for Nowell.

Mountaineers claim the lead, 35-33

With 3:47 left in the half, West Virginia is on an 11-2 run and leads, 35-33, after K-State was up by 10 earlier in the half.

K-State now has turned the ball over eight times, but still has a 17-10 advantage in points off turnovers, as the Mountaineers have nine miscues.

West Virginia surges to tie it at 31-31

West Virginia has put together runs of six and seven points to tie the game at 31 with 4:53 left.

K-State continues to lead, 28-22

Kansas State used an 11-0 run to open a 10-point lead, which has since shrunk to 28-22 with 7:10 left in the half.

Keyontae Johnson already has 11 points and Markquis Nowell five assists while attempting just one shot for the Wildcats. Emmitt Matthews leads West Virginia with eight points.

Wildcats answer West Virginia run

After an 11-2 run gave West Virginia its first lead at 14-13, K-State has scored seven straight and now leads 20-14 on a pair of Keyontae Johnson baskets with 12:19 left in the half. The Mountaineers run came courtesy of three straight Wildcat turnovers.

Johnson has nine points to lead the Wildcats, who have made 8 of 11 shots. West Virginia is 6 of 13.

K-State off to a hot start

Kansas State scored the game's first eight points, forcing Bob Huggins to burn and early timeout, but the Mountaineers have since found the range with a pair of 3-pointers.

At the first media timeout, the Wildcats lead 13-8 on 5 of 7 shooting. West Virginia is now 3 of 6 from the floor.

Desi Sills not in K-State lineup today

David N'Guessan, who started most of the season, is back in the lineup for K-State, replacing Desi Sills, who did not make the trip to Morgantown. The other starters — Markquis Nowell, Cam Carter, Keyontae Johnson and Nae'Qwan Tomlin remain the same.

Starting for West Virginia are Kedrian Johnson, Emmitt Matthews, Tre Mitchell, Erik Stvenson and Jimmy Bell.

K-State goes all purple in finale

Kansas State has opted for the black or lavender uniforms recently on the road, but today they'll go with purple instead.

It's senior day in West Virginia

West Virginia honored its six seniors — Kedrian Johnson, Emmitt Matthews, Tre Mitchell, Joe Toussaint, Erik Sevenson and Jimmy Bell — before the game.

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: K-State vs. WVU basketball scores, updates from regular season finale