Kansas State University Athletics
Kansas State University
4-1
UCF
2-2
No. 18 K-State holds on for 73-71 win over UCF
Nov 23, 2007 | Men's Basketball
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) -- Michael Beasley is making an unbelievable impression early in his freshman season. Â
The power forward from Washington D.C. had 30 points, Jacob Pullen added 19 and No. 18 Kansas State needed overtime to beat Central Florida 73-71 in the Old Spice Classic on Friday night.
"He's a tremendous talent and basketball player, and an instinctive basketball player," UCF coach Kirk Speraw said. "It's just not his physical skills, but his instincts. ... And what a great touch and great hands. He has some of the best hands that I've seen."
Kansas State (4-1) was coming off an 87-77 upset loss to George Mason Thursday.
Jermaine Taylor had 20 points, Dave Noel scored 15 and Mike O'Donnell added 14 for Central Florida (2-2), which forced overtime after overcoming a double-digit second-half deficit.
Clent Stewart converted two free throws and Darren Kent hit a 3-pointer to put Kansas State ahead 70-65 four minutes into overtime.
"It wasn't anything special," Kent said. "It was a good play and we got it done."
Central Florida rallied from a 13-point deficit midway through the second half to tie it at 61-all on a slam dunk by Taylor with 1:06 left in regulation.
O'Donnell hit a 3 to pull UCF within 70-68 with 58 seconds remaining. After a Kansas State free throw, O'Donnell made two from the foul line to cut the deficit to 71-70 with 24 seconds to go.
Pullen hit two free throws, making it 73-70. UCF's Chip Cartwright made one of two free throws with 6.6 seconds remaining to make it 73-71. Kansas State then escaped with the win when Noel's running jumper bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
Pullen helped Kansas State increase a one-point lead at intermission to a 50-37 advantage with 11 minutes left. The freshman guard hit four 3-pointers, including three in a row over a 90-second span that gave the Wildcats the 13-point lead.
"That's why we came to this tournament. To challenge our guys," Kansas State coach Frank Martin said. "You saw a bunch of young bucks out there growing up today."
Noel and Taylor connected for 3-pointers to cut the UCF deficit to 53-49 at the seven-minute mark.
Kansas State fell behind 9-2 five minutes into the game, but overcame the sluggish start thanks to Beasley, who hit a 3-pointer in the final minute to put Kansas State up 27-26 at halftime. He had 15 points during the opening half.
"He's going to get his (points)," Speraw said. "We just tried to make him earn each one, and I thought for the most part we made him earn every bucket that he got."
Kansas State forward Bill Walker didn't play due to a hyperextended left knee. Walker wanted to play, but was held out as a precautionary move. He had surgery on the knee last January.
Kansas State concludes play at the Old Spice Classic on Sunday when the Wildcats face Rider (3-2) in the fourth-place game at the Milk House. Tip is set for 12 p.m. CT and will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU with Bob Picozzi (play-by-play) and Len Elmore (analyst) calling the action.
GAME NOTES: With the win, Kansas State snapped a six-game losing streak in overtime games... It was the first overtime win since the Wildcats edged Baylor, 74-73, in the first round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on March 7, 2002... K-State is now 61-35 all-time in overtime games, including 56-29 in single overtime games.
