Kansas State University Athletics
Kansas State University
17-10, 6-8
Texas
10-17, 4-10
Johnson Lifts K-State Past Texas, 64-61
Feb 18, 2017 | Men's Basketball
GAME RECAP
64
61
NR/RBV
K-STATE
WILDCATS
17-10 (6-8 Big 12)
NR/NR
TEXAS
LONGHORNS
10-17 (4-10 Big 12)
LEADERS:
W. Iwundu: 16pts, 7rebs, 4asts
B. Brown: 15pts, 3rebs, 2stls
K. Stokes: 14pts, 4asts, 1stl
LEADERS:
K. Yancy: 13pts, 1blk, 1stl
J. Allen: 12pts, 4rebs, 2blks, 3stls
A. Jones: 9pts, 2asts, 2blks
| TEAM | 1ST | 2ND | F |
| K-State | 39 | 25 | 64 |
| Texas | 36 | 25 | 61 |
- ? GAMECENTER
- ? HIGHLIGHTS
- ? BOX SCORE
AUSTIN, Texas -- Senior forward D.J. Johnson 3-point play with 1.3 seconds helped lift Kansas State past Texas, 64-61, on Saturday afternoon before 11,318 fans at the Frank Erwin Center.
The win helped the Wildcats (17-10, 6-8 Big 12) snap a 3-game losing streak and earn their first win at the Erwin Center since an 81-69 victory over the Longhorns on Feb. 23, 2013 to halt a 3-game skid in Austin.
With the score knotted at 61-all after K-State called its final timeout with 8.6 seconds, Johnson was able to collect sophomore Kamau Stokes miss and hoist up the decisive shot before being fouled by Kendal Yancy with 1.3 seconds remaining. After Johnson hit the free throw, the Longhorns (10-17, 4-10 Big 12) were not able to get a shot off before the final buzzer sounded.
The play highlighted the return of Johnson, who has been slowed by an ankle injury that occurred in the waning moments in the home loss to No. 3/3 Kansas on Feb. 6. He missed the West Virginia game on Feb. 11 and played just 11 minutes off the bench in the loss to Iowa State at Bramlage Coliseum on Feb. 15. He finished the game with 9 points on 4-of-6 shooting with 2 rebounds in 20 minutes of action.
The last-second win highlighted a very strange offensive day for the Wildcats, which connected on 53.5 percent (23-of-43) from the field, including 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from 3-point range. K-State shot a season-best 76.2 percent (16-of-21) in the first half, which tied for the seventh-highest field goal percentage for a half in school history, before connecting on a season-low 31.8 percent (7-of-22) in the second half. It marked the 11th time this season that the team has hit on 50 percent or better from the field, including the sixth occasion in Big 12 play.
K-State was nearly flawless from the free throw line, knocking down 10 of its last 11 in the second half.
Senior guard Wesley Iwundu paced three Wildcats in double figures with a game-high 16 points on 5-of-10 field goals, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, to go with team-bests in rebounds (7) and assists (4) in 35 minutes. Sophomore guard Barry Brown scored in double figures for the third straight games with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Stokes registered double-digit points for the 17th consecutive game with 14 points.
Yancy led two Longhorns in double figures with a team-high 13 points off the bench.
The Basics
• Final Score: Kansas State 64, Texas 61
• Records: Kansas State 17-10, 6-8 Big 12 // Texas 10-17, 4-10 Big 12
• Attendance: 11,318
• Next Game: Wednesday, Feb. 22 // vs. Oklahoma State // 8 p.m. CT // ESPNU
The Short Story
• Senior D.J. Johnson’s 3-point play with 1.3 seconds remaining helped K-State to a 64-61 victory over Texas on Saturday afternoon at the Erwin Center to snap a 3-game losing streak.
• Johnson was able to grab Kamau Stokes’ miss and hit the jumper with 1.3 seconds before being fouled.
• The game winner highlighted the return of Johnson to the starting lineup, who was been slowed by an ankle injury that caused him to miss the West Virginia game on Feb. 11 and play just 11 minutes off the bench against Iowa State on Feb. 15.
• K-State connected on 53.5 percent (23-of-43) of its field goals, including 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from 3-point range, which marked the 11th time this season shooting 50 percent or better from the field.
• Senior Wesley Iwundu led three Wildcats in double figures with a game-high 16 points to go with team-highs in both rebounds (7) and assists (4), while sophomores Barry Brown and Kamau Stokes added 15 and 14 points, respectively.
• Texas was led by reserve Kendal Yancy’s 13 points on 4-of-7 field goals, including 2-of-3 from long range.
• The win enabled K-State to sweep the season series from Texas for the first time since 2013.
How It Happened | First Half
• K-State started the half off strong from the field, knocking down 6 of its first 7 field goals to force Texas to take an early timeout at the 16:10 mark with the Wildcats leading 12-4.
• The Longhorns chipped away at the deficit, using a 9-4 run to cut the deficit to 16-13 at the second media timeout with 10:58 remaining in the half.
• Eric Davis, Jr., tied the game at 16 on the next possession with a 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer.
• The Wildcats responded with three consecutive 3-pointers from Barry Brown, Kamau Stokes and Brian Patrick to take a 25-18 lead into the third media timeout at the 7:40 mark.
• A 3-pointer by Kerwin Roach, Jr., gave Texas its first lead at 31-30 to extend a 13-5 run, as K-State was forced to call its first timeout at the 4:10 mark.
• The teams traded 3-pointers as the first half ended, as K-State entered halftime with a 39-36 lead.
• K-State connected on a season-best 76.2 percent (16-of-21), including 87.5 percent (7-of-8) from 3-point range, in the first half, while Texas shot 50 percent (13-of-26), including 66.7 percent (6-of-9) from long range. The team were a combined 13-of-17 from 3-point range in the first half.
• The 76.2 percent shooting tied for the 7th-highest in school history and the highest since shooting 82.4 percent in the first half against Texas A&M on Dec. 20, 2014. It was tied for highest-ever in a Big 12 game.
• Wesley Iwundu led all scorers with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-2 from long range.
How It Happened | Second Half
• K-State again had a strong start to a half, as a pair of layups by D.J. Johnson and a free throw by Dean Wade gave the Wildcats a 44-38 lead to force a Texas timeout at the 16:57 mark.
• Both teams went through long droughts until a hard foul by Austin Budke led to scrum and the ejection of Budke as well as two Longhorn players – Isaiah Hobbs and Dylan Osetkowski – for leaving the bench.
• Jarrett Allen made 1-of-2 free throws before a triple by Mareik Isom cut it to 48-43 with 12:28 to play.
• Texas continued to cut the deficit as a jumper by Isom made it 48-46 with 10:47 remaining.
• A 3-pointer by Kamau Stokes ended a nearly 5-minute scoring drought, as K-State took a slight 51-46 edge into the third media timeout at the 7:56 mark.
• A jumper by Kendal Yancy closed the gap to 55-54 with 4:26 remaining.
• Texas tied it at 57-all on a 3 by Andrew Jones before Stokes’ jumper made it 59-57 with 3:06 left.
• After a dunk by Jones tied the game at 59-all with 1:34 remaining, K-State was forced to call its third timeout with 1:22 to go.
• A Barry Brown jumper gave the Wildcats a 61-59 lead with 39 seconds, but Allen answered with a layup to force the sixth tie of the game with 19 seconds to play.
• K-State called its final timeout with 8.6 seconds remaining to set up the final sequence.
• Stokes missed a jumper with less 2 seconds, but D.J. Johnson was able to corral the offensive rebound and put up the miss with 1.3 seconds after being fouled by Yancy.
• Johnson completed the 3-point play and Texas did not get a shot off before the clock expired.
• The Wildcats were hold on despite shooting a season-low 31.8 percent (7-of-22) in the second, including 14.3 percent (1-of-7) from 3-point range, but did knock down 90.9 percent (10-of-11) from the free throw line. The Longhorns hit on 42.1 percent (8-of-19) after halftime, including 40 percent (2-of-5) from long range, but were only 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from the line.
Beyond the Boxscore
• The win gave K-State 6 victories away from home, including 5 true road wins and 3 Big 12 road wins… It is the most in all 3 categories since the 2012-13 season when the Wildcats posted 10 victories away from home, which included 7 true road wins and 6 road wins in league play.
• K-State sweeps the season series from Texas for the first time since 2013, earning its first road win at the Erwin Center since an 81-69 victory on Feb. 23, 2013… The Wildcats now lead the all-time series, 19-15, including 13-15 in the Big 12 era, and moved to 9-7 in Austin.
• K-State connected on 50 percent or better from the field for the 11th time this season, including on the 6th occasion in Big 12 play… After connecting on 76.2 percent (16-of-21) of its field goals in the first half, the Wildcats have now shot at least 50 percent or better in at least one half of 21 games this season.
• K-State moved to 83-24 under head coach Bruce Weber when holding an opponent to 69 points or less, including 14-2 this season… More than 86 percent (83/96) of Weber’s wins have come in this fashion.
• Senior Wesley Iwundu led the Wildcats in scoring for the 15th time in his career, including on the 6th occasion this season… He also posted the team-highs in both rebounds (7) and assists (4).
• Iwundu now has 20 double-digit scoring games this season, including in 10 straight games.
• Sophomore Kamau Stokes extended his double-digit scoring streak to 17 consecutive games, including all 14 Big 12 games, with his 14-point effort… He has a team-best 22 double-figure scoring games.
• Sophomore Barry Brown notched 2 steals to give him 64 this season, which is the 4th-most in a single season in school history and just 3 away from Jacob Pullen’s single-season record of 67 in 2009-10… He added 15 points to give him 20 double-digit scoring games this season.
• K-State moved to 17-8 this season with the usual starting lineup of Stokes, Brown, Iwundu, sophomore Dean Wade and senior D.J. Johnson.
• Iwundu is now tied for the 3rd-most starts in school history with 116 in his career, tying Rolando Blackman (1977-81) and Jacob Pullen (2007-11)… His 124 games played tied Askia Jones for the 10th-most all-time.
Quotable
• “There was no doubt it was a necessary win for us,” said head coach Bruce Weber. “I feel so good for our players especially Wesley Iwundu. I think in this last stretch, he has really made a decision to be committed to K-State, having us be successful as a team and have a great finish to his career. He did a lot of everything today. He made shots in the first half. He didn’t get as many points in the second half, but he rebounded and defended. The senior made big plays. Texas made some great shot-clock threes and twos, but our guys kept believing, kept the faith, kept grinding and good things happened for us.”
Up Next
• K-State returns home on Wednesday, as the Wildcats play host to surging Oklahoma State (17-9, 6-7 Big 12) at 8 p.m. CT at Bramlage Coliseum. Tickets are available for as low as $15 through the K-State Athletic Ticket Office by calling (800) 221.CATS or online at www.kstatesports.com.
