16/15 K-State Drops Heartbreaker at Tulsa, 47-46

TULSA, Okla. – No. 16/15 Kansas State had consecutive shots rim out in the final seconds, as the Wildcats dropped a defensive slugfest to Tulsa, 47-46, in front of 5,719 fans at the Donald W. Reynolds Center on Saturday.

K-State (6-2) has now dropped consecutive road games after starting the season with six consecutive wins.

In a game where neither team shot particularly well from the field, the Wildcats were notably unproductive on offense, connecting on a season-low 30.5 percent (18-of-59) of their field goals, including 26.3 percent (5-of-19) from 3-point range. The 46 points were the fewest since scoring 42 at Baylor on Feb. 21, 2015.

Trailing 45-40 with 4:19 remaining, K-State got back-to-back 3-pointers from junior Xavier Sneed to take a one-point lead at 46-45 with 2:24 to play. Junior Martins Igbanu gave Tulsa (7-3) what turned out to be the game-winning jumper on the next possession at the 1:53 mark.

After a rebound by Sneed on a missed lay-up by Sterling Taplin with 23 seconds left and two called timeouts, a lay-up by senior Barry Brown, Jr., and the subsequent follow by fellow senior Kamau Stokes both rimmed out.

Sneed collected his second career double-double with a team-high 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while sophomore guard Cartier Diarra added 9 points and 7 rebounds off the bench.

Junior guard Curran Scott led Tulsa (7-3) with a game-high 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Tulsa jumped out quickly, using changing defenses to disrupt K-State, to take a 9-2 lead into the first media timeout at the 15:51 mark. The Golden Hurricane started 3-of-5 from the field compared to the Wildcats' 1-of-7.

Despite foul trouble from their two big men (Makol Mawien and Dean Wade), the Wildcats were able to cut into the deficit with a smaller lineup, as a 3-pointer from sophomore Mike McGuirl and a long jumper by Sneed cut the deficit to 20-17 with 8:45 before halftime.

However, a steal off an Austin Trice rebound resulted in a 3-pointer by junior Lawson Korita to push the lead back out to 23-17 and force K-State to call a timeout with 8:10 remaining.

The Wildcats wouldn't go away, slowly chipping away at the deficit, ending the half on an 8-1 run capped by a 3-pointer from Diarra from the corner to take a 25-24 lead into halftime. Diarra would score 5 of the 8 points during this pivotal stretch and lead the team with 7 points at halftime.

Both teams struggled from the field, as they combined to go 17-of-53, including 5-of-21 from 3-point range, and combined for 17 turnovers and 18 fouls. K-State connected on just 31 percent (9-of-29), including 22.2 percent (2-of-9) from 3, while Tulsa shot 33.3 percent (8-of-24), including 25 percent (3-of-12) from long range.

The poor shooting continued in the second half, as neither team could grab any rhythm in a back and forth affair.

After Wade scored his first basket to give K-State a 33-30 lead with 11:31 to play, Tulsa scored 10 of the next 12 points to take a 40-35 lead and force head coach Bruce Weber to call a timeout with 7:45 remaining.

A quick 5-0 spurt by the Wildcats tied the game at 40-all with 6:14 to play before the Golden Hurricane responded with their own 5-0 run to take a 45-40 advantage at the 4:19 mark.

Consecutive 3-pointers by Sneed gave K-State a 46-45 lead with 2:24 remaining, before a jumper by Igbanu on the next possession proved to be the game-winner at the 1:53 mark.

Brown and Stokes each missed lay-ups in the waning seconds, as the Wildcats dropped their second straight game.

K-State connected on 30.5 percent (18-of-59) from the field, including 30 percent (9-of-30) in the second half, while Tulsa shot 38 percent (19-of-50), including 42.3 percent (11-of-26) after halftime.

Sneed scored 9 of his team-high 13 points in the second half.

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Xavier Sneed – The junior collected his second career double-double with 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds in 35 minutes, as he went 5-of-14 from the field, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range.

STAT OF THE GAME
30.5 – K-State connected on a season-low 30.5 percent (18-of-59) of its field goals, including 26.3 percent (5-of-19) from 3-point range, as the Wildcats posted their fewest points (46) since 2015.

IN THEIR WORDS
K-State Head Coach Bruce Weber
On where the team needs to improve…
"I have to give them credit. We knew it was going to be a tough game. I put on the board "find a way to win." I told them that it would come down to toughness, poise and making a play at the end of the game. I anticipated this. I didn't hope for it, but I anticipated it. I thought we would find a way to win. We had a couple balls hang on the rim at the end, but in the middle our guys competed. They guarded the heck out of them. We went small down the stretch at the first half and held them without a field goal for over eight minutes. I thought we would get our little run, but we just didn't make the open shots or make the right plays. We had too many turnovers and didn't finish plays. We told them that they were going to be physical and tough and we just didn't make the plays when it counted. They had three great possessions in a row and that got us in a hard-fought game. Xavier Sneed and Kamau Stokes had some opportunities, but with Dean Wade's little feed, it just wasn't meant to be. We have to learn from it and move forward. We have a week of exams and then we have three games in a week. It will be nice to be back home. I wish it was a little smoother, but sometimes you have to go through some of this to take steps forward."

On Dean Wade…
"We need more out of him. Right now, he isn't aggressive enough. He was the biggest guy on the court most of the time and didn't use his strength or length to finish around the hoop. He will be fine. He is a good player and he will battle through this. It will be nice to get home and get everyone going. It won't be easy since Georgia State is a very good and already 2-0 against the SEC. It won't be an easy task. I didn't think our guys played strong enough. Right from the start, Tulsa was physical with us, totally opposite of last week's game where there were so many fouls called that the game lasted three hours. This week there were no fouls called. We have to adjust, and every game is different."

On the timeout by Barry Brown, Jr. …
"I wanted organization. We had a couple fouls and the last one we were going to go to (Xavier) Sneed in the corner hoping they would screw up or drive it. Sometime balls bounce your way and sometimes they don't, and it didn't this time."

On Tulsa's defense…
"It is good. Last year, they played more man than zone. We went 4-for-31 from the three. We had open ones tonight. They are so good at rotating and keeping compact. Every time I thought we had something going, they were able to adjust and not let us get into any comfort zone rhythm. We had some chances."

Does this game feel like last year's…
"I told the guys it will be like last year. We were down and the big thing was the start of the game. We spotted them 11-2 so then we were fighting back the whole time. We came out on our heels and they came out aggressive."

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

K-State is now 136-35 in non-conference play since the 2006-07 season.
K-State played the 12^th non-conference road game under head coach Bruce Weber, as the Wildcats are now 6-6 in those matchups.
Tulsa now leads the series, 7-1, including 4-0 in games played at home (1967, 1972, 1990, 2018)… This was the second of a three-game series between the schools, which began last season in Tulsa's 61-54 win at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita… The third matchup will be played in Manhattan in December 2019.

K-State posted season-lows for points (46) and field goal percentage (30.5)… It was the fewest points since scoring a Bruce Weber-low 42 at Baylor on Feb. 21, 2015, while it was the lowest field goal percentage since shooting 25 percent (14-of-56) at Oklahoma on Feb. 25, 2017.
K-State set season-lows for first-half points (25), first-half field goal percentage (31.0), second-half points (21) and second-half field goal percentage (30.0).
K-State has now held 74 opponents to 60 points or less in the Weber era with the Wildcats boasting a 66-8 mark in those contests, including 5 of 8 opponents this year… Tulsa was held to 47 points on 38 percent shooting (19-of-50), including 20 percent (4-of-20) from 3-point range.
K-State tied a season-high with 16 turnovers.
K-State scored a season-low 12 points of 15 Tulsa turnovers after scoring better than 16 points off turnovers in each of the first 7 games.

Junior Xavier Sneed scored a team-high 13 points on 5-of-14 field goals, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range, while adding a game-high 10 rebounds in 35 minutes… It was his second career double-double and his first this season… He has now led the team in scoring in 10 games in his career, including 3 times this season… He now has double-digit points in 41 career games, including 6 this season.
Senior Barry Brown, Jr., collected his 29^th career 3-steal game, moving his career total to 205 and moving to within 5 of the all-time record set by Jacob Pullen (210; 2007-11).

WHAT'S NEXT
K-State returns to home to Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday, December 15, as the Wildcats play host to Sun Belt Conference favorite Georgia State (6-3) at 7 p.m., CT. The Panthers have already knocked off SEC foes Georgia and Alabama, including rallying from 21 points down to defeat the Crimson Tide. Tickets can be purchased for as low as $10 through the Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 221.CATS.

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Team Stats

Xavier Sneed

Cartier Diarra

Barry Brown, Jr.

Mike McGuirl

Players Mentioned

Barry Brown, Jr.

Cartier Diarra

Makol Mawien

Mike McGuirl

Xavier Sneed

Kamau Stokes

Austin Trice

Dean Wade

Players Mentioned

Barry Brown, Jr.

Cartier Diarra

Makol Mawien

Mike McGuirl

Xavier Sneed

Kamau Stokes

Austin Trice

Dean Wade

Kansas State University Athletics