Kansas State University Athletics
Kansas State University
13-7, 4-5Big 12
Iowa State
14-8, 4-5Big 12
Cats Claw Out Victory Over Iowa State
Feb 08, 2006 | Men's Basketball
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) - Cartier Martin scored a team-high 22 points as Kansas State held on for a 66-63 win over Iowa State on Wednesday night.
The win snapped the Wildcats' three-game losing streak, while Iowa State lost its fourth-straight game in Manhattan.
Martin, who scored a season-low eight points in Saturday's 63-61 loss to Oklahoma State, was 4-of-7 from behind the 3-point line, including the basket that gave Kansas State (13-7, 4-5 Big 12) the lead for good with 2:23 left in the game.
David Hoskins, who scored a career-high 25 points in Kansas State's 72-70 loss in Ames earlier this season, finished with 12 points, while Dramane Diarra had 13 rebounds for the Wildcats.
Curtis Stinson led Iowa State (14-8, 4-5) with 22 points, his sixth-straight game with 20 points or more, and Jessan Gray added 11. Shawn Taggart finished with a career-high 11 rebounds for the Cyclones.
Trailing 28-24 to start the second half, Kansas State went on a 7-0 run that put the Wildcats up by three. The teams swapped the lead several times until Martin's 3-pointer put Kansas State up for good at 56-55.
The Wildcats hit four straight free throws to push their lead to five points. But Stinson hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to two with 1:30 left in the game.
Iowa State got to within one at 64-63 on Will Blalock's 3-pointer with 17.5 seconds left, but Martin hit a pair of free throws to push the margin back to three. Stinson's 3-point attempt with 3.7 seconds left rimmed out.
Kansas State was playing without head coach Jim Wooldridge, who had surgery on a bulging disc in his neck earlier in the day.
In his absence, assistant coach Jimmy Elgas picked up his first win at any level as a coach. Elgas will remain the interim coach for the Wildcats, and no timetable has been set on when Wooldridge will return.
At halftime, Kansas State retired the numbers of former players Lon Kruger, Chuckie Williams and Mike Evans.
Kruger coached at Kansas State from 1986-1990, leading the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament every year. He also was Big 8 Conference Player of the year in 1974, becoming the first Wildcat to earn the distinction.
Evans is Kansas State's all-time leading scorer with 2,115 points, shooting nearly 50 percent from the field in his career and earning conference player-of-the-year honors in 1977 and 1978.
Williams was named to the All-Big 8 team in his junior and senior year -- unanimously in his last season.
