K-State Wallops Wazzou, 86-69

MANHATTAN, Kan. - The K-State basketball team scored a school record 39 points off of turnovers on its way to an 86-69 victory over Washington State in the Big 12/Pac-10 Shootout on Saturday night before a sellout crowd at Bramlage Coliseum.

Kansas State moves to 7-1 on the season for the first time since the 2005-06 season, while Washington State dropped consecutive games for the first time this season after starting the season 6-0. 

The backcourt tandem of senior guard Denis Clemente and junior guard Jacob Pullen each chipped in 21 points to the Wildcat effort, with Pullen also tallying four assists and three steals.  Junior forward Dominique Sutton added 16 points on the night, while also leading all players in steals with four.

The victory was a true team effort, as 10 different Wildcats contributed points in the contest, with 19 points coming from the K-State bench.

The nation's second-leading scorer, Klay Thompson, paced the Cougars with 22 points, but turned the ball over nine times.  Freshman guard Reggie Moore was the only other WSU player in double figures with 16 points. 

K-State went into the locker room leading 46-29 at the half. The Wildcats played stifling defense in the first half, holding the Cougars to just 26.1 (6-of-23) percent shooting from the field in the first half, while forcing 16 turnovers.

In the second half, Clemente caught fire, scoring 17 points on six-of-nine shooting, including five-of-seven from three-point range.   In a span of 1:43, Clemente drained three shots from behind the arc, extending the K-State lead to 25 midway through the second half. The Wildcats never looked back, closing out the 17-point victory.

The Wildcats round out their current four-game home stand with a matchup with Xavier (5-2) on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. in Bramlage Coliseum. The game can be seen nationally on ESPNU and heard regionally over radio on the K-State Sports Network.