Late surge leads Kansas State past Oklahoma State

Field Level Media|published: Sat 20th January, 21:37 2024

Jan 20, 2024; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Javon Small (12) and Kansas State Wildcats forward David N'Guessan (1) go after a loose ball during the first half at Bramlage Coliseum. credits: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

Arthur Kaluma scored a game-high 23 points as Kansas State surged from behind in the second half to defeat Oklahoma State 70-66 in Manhattan, Kan., on Saturday evening.

The Wildcats closed the game on a 26-12 run.

Kansas State was wearing its throwback two-tone uniforms from the 1970s and '80s, with lavender tops and purple shorts.

The Wildcats (14-4, 4-1 Big 12) also got 15 points from Cam Carter and 10 from Will McNair Jr.

The Cowboys (8-10, 0-5) were led by Eric Dailey Jr.'s 15 points off the bench. Javon Small and John-Michael Wright had 11 each.

Oklahoma State opened up the largest lead of the game by either team to that point at 45-36 on a layup by Bryce Thompson with 14:36 left. K-State scored the next five points but OSU responded quickly, again pulling ahead by nine at 50-41.

When Small hit a 3-pointer with 10:13 left, the Cowboys led 54-44.

That sparked an 8-2 run by K-State that cut it to 56-52. A pair of free throws by Kaluma made it a two-point game at 60-58 with 4:31 remaining. Carter then hit a straightaway 3-pointer to give K-State a 61-60 lead with 3:31 left, its first lead of the half.

With K-State holding a 65-64 lead with 1:17 left, Tylor Perry hit the front end of a one-and-one for the Wildcats. Small then tied it on a contested layup with 53 seconds to go.

A perfect inbounds pass to Carter with 1.2 seconds on the shot clock allowed the Wildcats to grab a 68-66 lead with 24.8 left.

Oklahoma State then threw the ball out of bounds with 11.1 seconds left while trying to set up a game-tying play. Carter was fouled on the ensuing possession and hit both free throws to ice the game.

Neither team took care of the ball very well in the first half, with each team committing 17 turnovers.

Oklahoma State took a 35-31 lead into the locker room. The Cowboys were led by Dailey's 11 points before intermission. Wright added nine points on three 3-pointers. The Cowboys shot 42.9 percent (6 of 14) from 3-point range.

Kaluma also had 11 points, the last 11 points K-State scored in the half.

Oklahoma State dominated the boards in the first half, outrebounding the Wildcats 19-11. The Cowboys won the rebounding battle for the game, 31-25.

Despite Oklahoma State's edge on the boards, Kansas State dominated inside offensively, scoring 32 points in the paint for the game compared to the Cowboys' 18.

—Field Level Media