Kansas State University Athletics
Kansas State University
2-2
Dayton
4-1
Guards Pace Cats in Win over No. 18 Dayton
Nov 23, 2009 | Men's Basketball
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Jacob Pullen scored 26 points and Denis Clemente added 21 to lead Kansas State to an 83-75 victory over Dayton (No. 21 ESPN/USA Today, No. 18 AP) on Sunday in the third-place game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
The Wildcats (4-1) built an early lead and had enough to hang on at the finish to beat the Flyers, who defeated No. 21 Georgia Tech in the first round of the tournament.
The win was the first for K-State over a non-conference ranked team since beating No. 19 Iowa, 86-78, at home on Dec. 23, 2000, and was the first win over a ranked non-conference foe at a neutral site since beating No. 17 Arkansas, 47-46, in Kansas City on Dec. 27, 1980.
Pullen went 6-of-14 from the field and was 12-for-14 from the foul line, while Clemente, a Puerto Rican, was visibly charged playing in his Caribbean homeland, going 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. The duo combined for 40-plus points for the fourth time in their career and Sunday marked just the second time that both scored 20 or more points in the same game.
Kansas State led by as many as 10 in the first half and had a 35-28 edge at the break.
Chris Johnson led the Flyers (2-2) with 16 points and six rebounds, but they were dominated in the paint, where Kansas State outscored them 38-24 and outrebounded them 41-30.
K-State return to action on Saturday, Nov. 28 against IUPUI in the Sprint Center at 3 p.m. Tickets remain available by clicking here.
