Kansas State University Athletics
Kansas State University
15-5, 4-4Big 12
Iowa State
13-6, 5-3Big 12
K-State's Comeback Falls Short at Iowa State, 70-65
Jan 25, 2017 | Men's Basketball
GAME RECAP
65
70
RV/RV
K-STATE
WILDCATS
15-5 (4-4 Big 12)
RV/RV
IOWA STATE
CYCLONES
13-6 (5-3 Big 12)
LEADERS:
W. Iwundu: 15pts, 6rebs, 3asts
K. Stokes: 12pts, 5rebs, 3asts
X. Sneed: 11pts, 3rebs, 1stl
LEADERS:
M. Thomas: 25pts, 2rebs, 2asts
N. Mitrou-Long: 13pts, 6rebs, 2asts
M. Morris: 12pts, 4rebs, 4asts
| TEAM | 1ST | 2ND | F |
| K-State | 26 | 39 | 65 |
| Iowa State | 43 | 27 | 70 |
- ? GAMECENTER
- ? HIGHLIGHTS
- ? BOX SCORE
AMES, Iowa – Kansas State could not complete the comeback from a 20-point deficit, as Iowa State held on late for a 70-65 victory in front of a sold-out crowd of 14,384 fans at Hilton Coliseum.
Down 46-26 just 44 seconds into the second half after senior Matt Thomas connected on his seventh 3-pointer, the Wildcats (15-5, 4-4 Big 12) slowly chipped away at the deficit. The team used a 20-3 run over a more than an eight-minute span to take a 58-57 edge on a layup by sophomore Barry Brown with 5 minutes to play. Fellow sophomore Kamau Stokes set up the play with a steal of Nick Weiler-Babb just 5 seconds earlier.
The veteran Cyclones (13-6, 5-3 Big 12), who start five seniors, got key buckets from Thomas and All-American point guard Monte Morris on subsequent plays to regain the lead at 61-58 with 4:07 remaining. The Wildcats were able to close to within two points twice down the stretch, including 67-65 on another Brown layup with 24 seconds left, however, key free throws from seniors Naz Mitrou-Long and Deonte Burton sealed the game, 70-65.
Thomas looked to bury K-State early, as he scored 20 of his game-high 25 points in the first half on 7-of-9 field goals, including 6-of-8 from 3-point range. The Cyclones, who extended their winning streak to six in a row at home over the Wildcats, led by as many as 18 points in the first half on the strength of 59.3 percent shooting (16-of-27), including 60 percent (9-of-15) from 3-point range.
K-State was able get back into the game by tightening its defense on Iowa State in the second half, as the Cyclones shot just 32 percent (8-of-25) after halftime, including 25 percent (2-of-8) from long range. In contrast, the Wildcats, who scored a season-low 26 points on 34.5 percent (10-of-29) shooting in the first half, posted 39 points in the second half on a 45.2 percent clip (14-of-31) with four players scoring 8 or more points.
Senior Wesley Iwundu led five Wildcats in double figures with 15 points on 5-of-9 field goals, while Stokes registered double digits for the 10th consecutive game with 12 points. Reserve Xavier Sneed tallied 11 points, including a pair of key 3-pointers in the second half, while Brown and senior D.J. Johnson each added 10.
Mitrou-Long and Morris joined Thomas in double figures with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
The Basics
• Final Score: Iowa State 70, Kansas State 65
• Records: Kansas State 15-5, 4-4 Big 12 // Iowa State 13-6, 5-3 Big 12
• Attendance: 14,384
• Next Game: Saturday, Jan. 28 // at Tennessee // 1 p.m. CT // ESPN2
The Short Story
• Kansas State nearly completed an improbable comeback from a 20-point deficit before Iowa State made clutch plays down the stretch for a 70-65 win before a sold-out crowd at Hilton Coliseum.
• The Wildcats trailed by as many as 20 points, including just 44 seconds into the second half, before using a 20-3 run over an eight-minute span to take a 58-57 lead on layup by Barry Brown with 5 minutes to play.
• The veteran Cyclones made key plays down the stretch, including field goals by Matt Thomas and Monte Morris, to regain the lead 53 seconds later at 61-58.
• Twice K-State was able to close the gap to within two points, including 67-65 on another layup by Brown with 24 seconds left. However, key free throws sealed the game at 70-65.
• K-State connected on just 40 percent (24-of-60) from the field, including 30.4 percent (7-of-23) from 3-point range, after hitting on 50 percent or better of its field goals in five of the last six games.
• Senior Wesley Iwundu paced five Wildcats in double figures with a team-high 15 points, while Kamau Stokes registered double figures for the 10th consecutive game with 12 points.
• Thomas scored 20 of his game-high 25 points in the first half to pace three Cyclones in double figures, along with fellow seniors Naz Mitrou-Long (13) and Morris (12).
How It Happened | First Half
• Neither team started the game strong, as the squads were tied at 5-all at the first media timeout at the 15:55 mark. Each team had 2 made field goals and combined for 6 turnovers.
• Iowa State got hot from 3-point range with back-to-back treys from Monte Morris and Matt Thomas to take a 15-10 lead and force a K-State timeout with 13:04 before halftime.
• The ISU run grew to 8-0 as the advantage was 20-10 at the second media timeout at the 11:55 mark.
• The Cyclones continued their hot shooting from 3-point range, as a seventh 3-pointer pushed the lead to 29-18 at the media timeout at the 7:26 mark.
• The lead stood at 35-20 after a layup by Deonte Burton at the final timeout with 3:45 before halftime.
• Iowa State continued to hold its lead at halftime, taking a 43-26 advantage on the strength of 57.1 percent shooting (16-of-28), including 60 percent (9-of-15) from 3-point range. K-State managed to shoot just 35.7 percent (10-of-28), including 36.4 percent (4-of-11) from long range.
• The 26 points were a season low for a first half, as K-State managed to shoot just 35.7 percent (10-of-28), including 36.4 percent (4-of-11) from long range. Wesley Iwundu led the Wildcats with 9 points.
How It Happened | Second Half
• Thomas continued his impressive shooting from long range, connecting on his seventh trey of the game just 44 seconds into the second half to extend the lead to 46-26.
• Despite holding Iowa State to more than 2 minutes without points, K-State could only cut the deficit to 47-31 at the first media timeout of the second half at the 15:55 mark.
• The Wildcats were able to close to within 49-36 on a layup by Xavier Sneed with 14:10 to play.
• However, two free throws from Nick Weiler-Babb and a 3-pointer from Naz Mitrou-Long pushed the Cyclone advantage back to 52-36 with 13:58 remaining
• A pair of free throws and a layup by Iwundu put K-State to within 54-43 at the 10:01 mark.
• The Wildcats crept back into the contest at 54-48 with a 3-point play by D.J. Johnson and a layup by Kamau Stokes at the 8:42 mark, but Cyclones ended a drought with a dunk by Merrill Holden just before the media timeout with 7:52 remaining.
• A 3-pointer by Sneed got K-State to within one possession at 56-53 at the 6:46 mark then a second with 5:32 remaining closed the gap to 57-56.
• A steal by Stokes and lay-up by Barry Brown gave the Wildcats their first lead at 58-57 with 5 to play.
• Thomas and Morris made key plays in the next 2 possessions, as the Cyclones regained the edge at 61-58 with 4:07 remaining. Thomas made a turnaround jumper then Morris followed with a layup.
• Three times the Wildcats closed the deficit to two points in the last four minutes, including 65-63 on a free throw by Johnson with 1:38 to play and 67-65 on a Brown layup with 24 seconds remaining.
• However, the Cyclones responded each time to push ahead, including a layup by Deonte Burton with 38 seconds and a pair of free throws from Naz Mitrou-Long with 21 seconds left.
• K-State connected on 45.2 percent (14-of-31) in the second half, while Iowa State was held to just 32 percent (8-of-25), including 25 percent (2-of-8) from 3-point range.
• Stokes scored 9 of his 12 points in the second half, while three others – Brown, Johnson and Sneed – each added 8 points.
Beyond the Boxscore
• Four of the Wildcats’ five losses have come by 5 points or less and by a total of 18 points.
• K-State hit on just 40 percent (24-of-60) from the field, including 30.4 percent (7-of-23) from 3-point range… The Wildcats had connected on 50 percent or better from the field in 5 of the previous 6 games.
• Five players scored in double figures for the sixth time this season, as senior Wesley Iwundu led the way in scoring for the 13th time in his career and the fourth time this season with 15 points.
• K-State forced double-digit turnovers for the 13th time in 14 games with 14 and scored 12 points off those miscues… The Wildcats have scored 12 points or more off turnovers in 19 games.
• Sophomore Barry Brown tied a career-high with 8 rebounds to go with 10 points.
• K-State has used the same starting lineup in all 20 games this season with sophomores Kamau Stokes, Barry Brown and Dean Wade and seniors D.J. Johnson and Wesley Iwundu… Iwundu has played in 84 consecutive games, including a streak of 72 starts in a row.
• K-State still owns a 137-86 advantage in the all-time series with Iowa State, including 50-50 in games played in Ames… The Cyclones have won 23 of 43 meetings in the Big 12 era, including a 15-6 mark at Hilton Coliseum… The last K-State win in Ames came 86-85 on Feb. 5, 2011.
Quotable
• “I’m encouraged by our second-half comeback,” said head coach Bruce Weber. “However, we shouldn’t have put ourselves in that position with such a poor first half. The old coaches say that you will have a few games a year where your guys aren’t quite focused enough and I thought that was us in the first half. You have to give our players’ credit for rallying back to take the lead, but we just didn’t make enough plays down the stretch. Iowa State is a veteran team and made key plays when they needed it.”
Up Next
• K-State concludes a 2-game road swing on Saturday afternoon, as the Wildcats travel to Knoxville, Tenn., to take on Tennessee (11-9, 4-4 SEC) in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge at Thompson-Boling Arena beginning at 1 p.m., CT on ESPN2. Tickets are available by calling (800) 332.VOLS or online at www.AllVols.com.
