Clemente Notches 27 in Win at Oklahoma

NORMAN, Okla. - Five Wildcats scored in double figures and seventh-ranked Kansas State used a strong second-half performance to surge past Oklahoma, 83-68, Saturday at the Lloyd Noble Center.

With the win, Kansas State improved to 22-4 on the season and 9-3 in Big 12 play, while Oklahoma dropped to 13-13 and 4-8. The win guaranteed K-State a winning record on the road in Big 12 play for the first time in league history and for the first time since the 1987-88 season.

Denis Clemente paced the Wildcats with 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting, while Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly each had 14 points. Jamar Samuels added 12 points off the bench, while Dominique Sutton had 11. Clemente now has seven 20-plus point games this season and 16 for his career.

K-State shot 53.3 percent for the game, including 58.1 percent in the second half, and connected on 10-of-20 three-point field goals. The performance from beyond the arc marked the fourth time this season that the Wildcats have hit 10 or more three-pointers.

Holding on to a two-point halftime lead, Clemente's three-pointer in transition three minutes into the second half gave K-State a seven-point advantage at 44-37. But, the Sooners bounced right back to close the gap to 47-46 until a Samuels lay-in upped the margin to 49-46.

K-State then went up seven following three-point field goals by Clemente and Samuels and another Clemente three from the top of the key at the 12:39 mark upped the lead to 10 at 59-49. The Wildcats would extend their lead to 71-55 with 8:35 left after Sutton drained a three from the left side.

The Sooners would only get as close as 11 in the final minute and a Clemente runner and two free throws from Kelly upped the lead back to 15 at 83-68.

Kelly recorded two quick baskets to open the game to give the Wildcats a 4-0 lead before Oklahoma answered with 10 of the next 13 total points to take a 10-7 lead. The Wildcats battled back to take a 12-10 lead but the Sooners came back with eight straight to take an 18-12 advantage.

Down 20-12, the Wildcats pulled back even following consecutive three-pointers from Pullen and Clemente, but the Sooners answered right back with five straight points. After Oklahoma pushed out to a 31-23 lead at the five-minute mark, the Wildcats stormed back with 12 straight and took a 35-33 lead into the locker room.

The Wildcats shot 48.3 percent from the floor in the first half, while the Sooners hit on 38.7 percent of their shots. Oklahoma also out-rebounded K-State in the opening 20 minutes, 22-14, which led to eight second-chance points.

K-State returns to action Tuesday when it travels to Lubbock, Texas, to face Texas Tech. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on the Big 12 Network.

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Team Stats

Denis Clemente

Jacob Pullen

Curtis Kelly

Jamar Samuels

Kansas State University Athletics