MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Peyton Williams scored 22 points with 10 rebounds, Kaylee Page scored seven of her 12 points in the fourth quarter and Kansas State handed No. 12 West Virginia its second straight loss 60-52 on Wednesday night.

The Wildcats (9-5, 1-2 Big 12 Conference), who had lost three straight, the last two to ranked league opponents, scored the last four points of the third quarter to pull within 44-42. Page tied it at 33 seconds into the fourth quarter, and after a Kayla Goth free throw put Kansas State up for good, Page hit a 3 to make it 48-44.

The Mountaineers (13-2, 1-2), coming off a loss to No. 8 Texas, got a free throw to end a 5:53 drought, and then Page made a layup. Teama Muldrow scored for West Virginia to end a streak of seven missed shots over 6 1/2 minutes. The Mountaineers then went 1 of 10 to close the game, finishing 2 of 14 in the fourth quarter.

Goth finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Muldrow had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Mountaineers, who shot 30 percent for the game, 24 percent in the second half, as their 11-game home winning streak ended.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas State coach Bill Snyder will be back on the sideline next season.

The 78-year-old coach had been mulling his future since the Wildcats beat UCLA in the Cactus Bowl last week. Snyder ultimately announced in a brief statement Tuesday that he would return, ending growing speculation in some circles that he might retire for a second time.

“As I have stated many times, as long as I remain in good health, am wanted and have a positive impact on the young people in our program, I will continue to be the head coach at Kansas State,” he said. “Those factors have not changed, and I look forward to meeting with our players and beginning our out-of-season program when classes resume.”

Snyder informed his family of his intentions before telling his assistants in a brief meeting on Tuesday, a person familiar with the decision-making process told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Snyder did not discuss his plans publicly.

Snyder was diagnosed with throat cancer last offseason, but hardly missed a practice and headed into the year with high expectations. A series of early losses scuttled Big 12 title hopes, and it took a run at the end of the year just to become eligible for a bowl game.

Snyder is 210-110-1 since taking over the program in 1988.

“We are excited that Coach Snyder has decided to continue to lead our program and look forward to building off the late-season momentum which included five wins in our final six games, a top-10 road win and Cactus Bowl victory,” said Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor, who was hired earlier this year. “I know he and his staff, in addition to our student-athletes, are anxious to get winter workouts and spring practices under way in preparation for next season.”

The Wildcats will return most of their starters from a team that ultimately went 8-5 and won its second straight bowl game. Alex Delton and Skylar Thompson, the two quarterbacks who took most of the snaps, will be back along with a veteran offensive line and several skill players.

Their defense should be stout next season, too, even though standout cornerback and return man D.J. Reed has announced plans to skip his senior season for the NFL draft.

Snyder has a contract that rolls over each year, which means he can essentially choose when to walk away. And he has said the last several years that he makes that decision on a year-by-year basis, based primarily on his health but also the wishes of his family.

Now that his decision has been made, Snyder can go about replacing offensive coordinator Dana Dimel, who left for the top job at UTEP. Dimel had grown unpopular with many Kansas State fans eager for a fresh start, and there are several candidates on the staff that will get consideration, among them former Heisman Trophy candidate Collin Klein and wide receivers coach Andre Coleman.

Snyder can also begin putting the finishing touches on a recruiting class that was nearly filled during the fall, and begin preparing for a season that should again be full of expectations.

Along with its conference games, the Wildcats have a trio of home games highlighted by a visit from Mississippi State in early September that should provide a good early barometer.

“It’s pretty obvious we’d have to change course because we didn’t take advantage of the strong finish that we had last year,” Snyder said after the Cactus Bowl. “As you know we were not a real good football team earlier in the season. So whatever that approach was, we’re going to have to change it.

“The main thing is every year’s different. And the dynamics are different regardless of how many young guys you have back, et cetera. And it’s still about the same process. And you’ve heard that, so I won’t repeat all the things that we talk about, what our program’s about and what the process is about, but that is indeed — they understand it. It’s just a matter of doing it.”

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — West Virginia coach Bob Huggins has a play card packed with 75 offensive sets, yet he couldn’t seem to find anything that would work against Kansas State on Monday.

So Huggins told his guys to get the Wildcats to chase them in the hopes of opening up the lane.

Maybe that freelancing should be set No. 76.

Teddy Allen kept driving to the rim and scored 22 points, Lamont West added 19, and the sixth-ranked Mountaineers — so often the undersized team whenever they step on the floor — beat up pesky Kansas State in the paint in a 77-69 victory that pushed their win streak to 13 games.

“When you can’t make a shot you have to do something,” Huggins said, “and we couldn’t make one.”

The Mountaineers (13-1, 2-0), who have not lost since their opener against Texas A&M in Germany, were 4 of 15 from beyond the arc. But they offset that poor perimeter shooting by outrebounding Kansas State (11-3, 1-1) and compiling a massive 40-18 advantage in points in the pain.

“They’re really good at making you shoot the ball over you. It’s kind of like playing Virginia, to a degree. You got 10 eyes on you all the time,” Huggins said. “We had to get close.”

West Virginia was clinging to a 65-61 lead down the stretch when Allen went to work, slicing down the lane and picking up fouls. He kept knocking down the free throws, scoring eight points in the closing minutes while helping the Mountaineers to their first win on New Year’s Day.

West Virginia had lost its previous four games on Jan. 1.

“We kept the game within a couple possessions for the most part, but at the end they kind of picked us apart,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “They just seemed to make all the right plays.”

Xavier Sneed scored 20 points and Dean Wade had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Kansas State, but the duo couldn’t compensate for miserable performances by Barry Brown and Kamau Stokes.

Brown finished with 14 points, but he was just 5 of 13 from the field and committed seven of the Wildcats’ 15 turnovers. Stokes was 0 for 10 from the field and had six points.

“They fought the game a little bit today, instead of letting it come,” Weber said.

The Mountaineers’ pressure defense caused several lengthy first-half droughts for Kansas State, and at one point West Virginia had built a 25-15 lead with just over three minutes to go.

It took little-used guard Brian Patrick, whose career-best night came against West Virginia last season, to get the Wildcats going. He entered just before the break and knocked down a 3-pointer, then fed Brown for another 3, closing the deficit to 31-26 heading to the locker room.

The Mountaineers kept the Wildcats at arm’s length most of the second half, relying on their tough defense, some ugly misfires and a few fortunate calls to maintain their advantage.

Kansas State trailed 65-55 with 5 1/2 minutes left when it made a final run. Wade got to the foul line, Brown followed him there and Sneed knocked down his sixth 3-pointer from right in front of his bench to claw the Wildcats within 65-61 at the under-4 media timeout.

Allen and the Mountaineers showed their poise down the stretch.

The freshman forward went to the foul line on three consecutive trips down the floor, knocking down six straight free throws. And when Wade threw the ball away and failed to convert on a free throw of his own, the Mountaineers built enough of a cushion to hold on the rest of the way.

They’re a great team. They made some plays down the stretch,” Wade said. “We’ve just got to move on from this game, it’s behind us. We can’t do anything about it now.”

BIG PICTURE

West Virginia opened conference play at Oklahoma State three days ago, but rather than make a long trip home, the Mountaineers headed to Manhattan early. They passed the time by watching movies, hanging out at the mall and, yes, breaking down game film.

Kansas State scorched the nets in a win at Iowa State to open Big 12 play. But throw out Sneed’s 3s and the Wildcats were 4 of 17 from beyond the arc and shot 35.7 percent from the field.

UP NEXT

West Virginia heads home to face No. 7 Oklahoma on Saturday night.

Kansas State travels to No. 18 Texas Tech on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

AMES, Iowa (AP) — If junior Dean Wade can shoot anywhere near as well as he did on Friday night, Kansas State just might have a chance in the Big 12 after all.

Wade poured in a career-high 34 points, Kamau Stokes added 23 and Kansas State opened conference play by pounding Iowa State 91-75 for its first win in Ames since 2011.

Barry Brown Jr. had 21 points for the Wildcats (11-2, 1-0 Big 12), who shot 13 of 26 from 3-point range to snap Iowa State’s nine-game winning streak.

It was all keyed by the 6-foot-10 Wade, who was 6 of 8 on 3s and 13 of 16 overall.

“Once you hit one, you feel a little bit more confident in the second one and so on and so forth,” Wade said. “Coaches keep telling me to shoot it…so I was taking their advice and shooting it.”

After a blistering first half that saw K-State jump ahead 53-50, the Wildcats put away the Cyclones (9-3, 0-1) by tightening up their defense — while Iowa State slacked off on that end.

Iowa State missed 10 of its first 11 shots in the second half, and Kansas State — picked just eighth in the preseason league poll — jumped ahead by 12 on a Xavier Sneed 3.

Wade’s 3, his sixth of the night, made it 75-60 with just fewer than 10 minutes to go. He also grabbed eight boards for the Wildcats, who had dropped their previous four meetings against the Cyclones.

“If you’re going to win road games, you have to have someone step up and be special,” K-State coach Bruce Weber said of Wade. “He was in that zone.”

Lindell Wigginton scored 23 points in his Big 12 debut to lead Iowa State, which committed 13 turnovers and shot just 23 percent in the second half after hitting 68 percent of its shots in the opening frame.

“Disappointing, unacceptable performance,” Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said. “Our youth and inexperienced showed too.”

THE BIG PICTURE

Kansas State: Given how brutal the Big 12 figures to be in 2018, opening with a road win — even against rebuilding Iowa State — is big for the Wildcats. And although Wade likely won’t shoot as well as he did on Friday in the future, having a big man that can stretch defenses should continue to open things up for K-State’s talented backcourt. “Dean is a threat every night, and teams are going to have to key on him,” Brown said.

Iowa State: The Cyclones can’t expect to play defense like they did on Friday night and win much in the Big 12. That’s often an issue for teams relying on as many youngsters as Iowa State is.

WHAT A HALF!

The first half produced some gaudy numbers, including six lead changes and eight ties. Iowa State shot 17 of 25 from the field and yet still trailed by three. Stokes and Wade combined for 39 points in the first 20 minutes on 13-of-18 shooting, and Wigginton scored 15 points while hitting all five of his shots.

NOTES

Solomon Young scored 16 points, Nick Weiler-Babb had 14 with seven rebounds and Cameron Lard scored 13 points with nine rebounds. …Wade’s previous career best was 25 points in a win over Oral Roberts in late November. …Iowa State’s last loss was a 74-58 home defeat to Milwaukee — a result that felt eerily similar to this one. …K-State closed the game by outscoring the Cyclones 58-36.

HE SAID IT

“We didn’t bring a lot of energy. We didn’t buy in on the defensive end and we were just going one-on-one on offense,” Wigginton said about Iowa State’s sluggish start to the second half

UP NEXT

The Cyclones hosts Texas on New Year’s Day.

Kansas State opens its Big 12 home schedule against West Virginia on Jan. 1.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kalani Brown scored 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting to lead No. 6 Baylor to an 88-58 victory over Kansas State on Thursday night in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

Baylor (10-1, 1-0 Big 12) led 8-0 2:05 into the game, a run that included a technical foul on Kansas State coach Jeff Mittie.

The Lady Bears hammered the Wildcats (8-3, 0-1) in the paint, scoring 48 points inside, a number of which came off second-chance opportunities.

Kansas State’s Kayla Goth led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-20 shooting from the field.

BIG PICTURE

This was the Big 12 Conference opener for both teams and while the first quarter appeared to see Baylor dominating, the Wildcats made the game quite respectable well into the second half. The game against Kansas State marked the Lady Bears first in 10 days and the rust was apparent, even after the hot first quarter start. Meanwhile, this marks the first game in what appears to be a long stretch for the Wildcats as they will face three more ranked opponents, two on the road and hosting No. 8 Texas.

UP NEXT

BAYLOR: The Lady Bears host Texas Tech on Dec. 31.

KANSAS STATE: The Wildcats travel to Oklahoma State on Dec. 31.

— Associated Press —

PHOENIX (AP) — Alex Delton ran for 158 yards and accounted for four touchdowns, leading Kansas State to a 35-17 Cactus Bowl victory over UCLA on Tuesday night in what could be the final game of coach Bill Snyder’s career.

Delton replaced Skylar Thompson late in the first quarter and scored on runs of 68 yards, 3 yards and 1 yard. Alex Barnes added 117 yards and a touchdown for the Wildcats, who rushed for 345 yards.

Kansas State (8-5) struggled in the first half against UCLA’s potent offense, but shut down the Bruins in the second to give Snyder his 210th — and possibly final — win with the Wildcats.

UCLA (6-7) played without top NFL prospect Josh Rosen, who’s recovering from a concussion, and built a 10-point halftime lead without its star quarterback.

The Bruins’ offensive success didn’t carry over into the second half and their defense had a hard time containing Delton, saddling interim coach Jedd Fisch with a loss in his last game before Chip Kelly takes over the program.

Snyder turned around one of the nation’s worst programs after taking over in the Little Apple in 1989. He returned from a three-year retirement in 2008 and led the Wildcats to eight straight bowl appearances.

Snyder has not decided whether he will return for a 27th season or retire again to spend time with his family.

The 78-year-old coach made a quarterback change in the first quarter of the Cactus Bowl, replacing Thompson after an interception. Delton had an immediate impact with his legs, bursting through a hole in the middle, making a tackler miss and racing 68 yards for a touchdown.

Snyder took a gamble in the third quarter, opting to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 1. Delton came through again, bulling his way through a massive pile — with some help from his teammates — for a hard-earned score.

Kansas State recovered Bolu Olorunfunmi’s fumble at the Bruins 24-yard line on the next play from scrimmage, and Delton hit Dominique Heath for an 8-yard touchdown to give the Wildcats the lead.

UCLA turned it over on downs — after a successful fake punt — and Kansas State turned its fourth-down try into a touchdown, with Alex Barnes putting the Wildcats up 28-17 with a 41-yard run.

Kansas State gave UCLA no hope of a comeback with a drive that lasted more than eight minutes and ended with Delton’s final TD run.

Rosen, expected to leave for the NFL after his junior year, was in uniform at Chase Field and warmed up before the game, but Devon Modster trotted out to the huddle for UCLA.

The Bruins still had their big-play game going even without Rosen, building a 17-7 halftime lead on two long TD passes by Modster.

UCLA’s offensive roll ended with halftime. The Bruins had 100 total yards and three first downs in the second half.

THE TAKEAWAY

If this was the final game of Snyder’s career, the Wildcats sent him out on a high note with a dominant second-half performance.

UCLA’s defense, a sore spot all season, had no answer for Delton, and its offense could have used Rosen in the second half.

UP NEXT

Kansas State: The Wildcats should be in good shape on offense next season whether Snyder returns or not. Kansas State has no seniors on its two-deep roster on offense, though there are five on defense.

UCLA: Kelly will likely have to replace Rosen when he takes over, but will have plenty of firepower returning. He’s also one of the nation’s top recruiters, so the Bruins should be well-stocked with talent.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kansas – Trailing by 12 early in the third quarter, Kansas State rallied to take a two-point fourth quarter lead but perimeter shooting by Northern Iowa sent the Wildcats to a 72-71 defeat on Thursday night at Bramlage Coliseum.

Northern Iowa (4-7) finished the night 16-of-31 (.516) from beyond the arc, just one made 3-point field goal from tying the opponent record against K-State of 17 set by South Dakota on Nov. 19, 2015. K-State was just 4-of-17 (.235) from the 3-point line, but registered a 17-of-23 (.739) effort from the foul line to close the margin.

Kansas State (8-3) was led by the duo of junior guard Kayla Goth and sophomore forward Peyton Williams with a combined 47 points. Goth registered a career-high 26 points while also handing out five assists, pulling in four rebounds and adding two blocks and two steals. This was the fourth career game of 20 or more points for Goth including her second this season. She has also dished out five or more assists in nine games this season.

Williams also notched her second game of 20 or more points this season, as she tallied 21 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block. The product of Topeka, Kansas, has 16 career games with five or more rebounds, including eight this season.

The Panthers had three players in double figures led by Kennedy Kirkpatrick with 24 points, Mikaela Morgan with 18 points and Ellie Howell with 11 points. UNI’s bench outscored the K-State bench, 51-12.

The teams exchanged the lead four times in the opening quarter, as Northern Iowa held a 16-14 lead after the first. K-State was paced by Goth with five points and freshman center Ashley Ray, who made her first career start on Thursday, with four points.

Northern Iowa built an eight-point lead, 28-20, with a 12-4 run in the opening four and a half minutes of the second quarter. K-State ended its dry spell with a 9-0 run to take a 29-28 lead with 3:08 to play and force a Panthers’ timeout.

Goth scored K-State’s final 11 points of the first half, but Northern Iowa would hold a 40-35 lead at halftime. The Wildcats shot 12-of-26 from the field in the first half, but the Panthers were 14-of-31 including a 9-of-19 effort from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes.

After Northern Iowa took its largest lead of the night, 49-37, with 6:39 of the third quarter, Kansas State proceeded to end the third stanza on a 15-2 run and take a 52-51 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Williams scored eight points during the rally, including a pair of 3-point plays. K-State held the Panthers without a field goal for the final 6:38 of the quarter.

In the fourth quarter, K-State came back from a five-point deficit, 60-55, with 6:16 remaining to go in front by two, 62-60, following a transition layup from Kaylee Page to force a UNI timeout with 4:25 to play in regulation.

After the timeout, the Panthers scored nine quick points to go back in front by five, 69-64, with 2:11 left. Kirkpatrick was responsible for seven of the nine points during the rally including her sixth and seventh 3-pointers of the night.

K-State mounted a late comeback, as Williams made a layup with 27 seconds following a pair of missed free throws by the Panthers. After UNI made two free throws for a 71-66 lead with 16 seconds left, Karyla Middlebrook drove the length of the floor to finish a layup with 11 seconds to bring K-State to within three, 71-68. Middlebrook finished with eight points and three assists in 20 minutes off the bench.

Northern Iowa then made just one of two free throws and K-State raced up the floor after the second attempt missed. Goth drained her third 3-pointer of the night with four seconds left. The Panthers attempted to inbound the ball following the make, but were tied up by Shaelyn Martin on the wing with the possession arrow favoring K-State with just 8 tenths of a second left.

Page inbounded the ball under K-State’s own basket and lobbed a pass to Goth in the lane. On Goth’s field goal attempt with a tenth of a second left, she was fouled. Both free throw attempts were long to send K-State to its first home loss of the 2017-18 season.

K-State finished the night shooting 41.0 percent overall (25-of-61) which included a 32-10 advantage in points in the paint. UNI tallied a 41.5 percent effort (22-of-53). UNI registered an assist on all 22 made field goals, while K-State handed out 11.

K-State held a 23-9 lead in points off turnovers, as the Wildcats forced the Panthers into 16 turnovers compared to just eight by K-State.

Following a break for the holidays, Kansas State begins Big 12 action on Thursday, December 28, as the Wildcats host (6/6) Baylor at 7 p.m. The Wildcats and Lady Bears will meet in the league season opener for the third time in the last five years, as the teams opened the 2013-14 Big 12 season in Manhattan and the 2016-17 season in Waco.

— K-State Athletics —

MANHATTAN, Kansas – Playing its second game in three days, Kansas State showed no signs of strain as the Wildcats scored a season-high 99 points to defeat Chicago State, 99-51. The 99 points were the most since K-State scored 102 against Florida Atlantic on Dec. 13, 2015.

Kansas State (8-2) had three players reach double figures, as freshman Rachel Ranke scored a career-high 24 points and buried a career-best seven 3-pointers in 23 minutes off the bench. Ranke is the first Wildcat to make seven or more 3-pointers in a game since Brittany Chambers knocked down nine against Texas Southern on March 21, 2013.

Joining Ranke’s effort was equaled by junior Kayla Goth and sophomore Peyton Williams, as each notched a double-double. Goth tallied 19 points, a career-high 11 assists, five rebounds, four steals and a block. Goth is the first K-State player with 10 or more assists in three or more games since Shalee Lehning in the 2008-09 season.

Williams tallied her third career double-double and her second this season with 15 points and 10 rebounds while also handing out three assists. Williams has surpassed double figures in points in four of K-State’s last five games.

Chicago State (0-13) was led by Tyeshia Bowers with 15 points.

For the night, K-State shot 49.3 percent from the field (34-of-69), while carding a 11-of-28 effort from beyond the arc. The 11 connections from beyond the arc are the second-highest total this season for K-State, as the Wildcats knocked down 12 against Omaha on Nov. 13.

Kansas State spanned the first and second quarters with a 13-2 run to establish a 31-12 lead with 7:26 remaining in the first half. During the opening quarter, senior guard Karyla Middlebrook made her season debut and tallied three points in the first frame. Middlebrook finished the night with five points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal in 13 minutes.

K-State held a 51-21 lead at the half, as Ranke connected on a pair of 3-point field goals in the final minute to send the Wildcats to their largest lead of the opening half. The 51 first half points were a season high and marked the most since K-State scored 51 against West Virginia on January 1, 2017.

The Wildcats shot 53.1 percent (17-of-32) from the field in the opening half and were boosted by a 21-2 edge in points off turnovers. This is the fifth game this season K-State has scored 20 or more points off opponent turnovers.

K-State was led in the opening half by Ranke and Goth with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Goth added five assists, four rebounds and three steals to her first half stat line. All nine Wildcats that played in the first half registered at least two points.

The Wildcats would hold off the Cougars in the third quarter, 19-16, for a 70-37 lead after three. Williams and Shaelyn Martin combined to score 16 of K-State’s points in the third quarter, as Williams tallied nine and Martin added seven.

Martin finished the night with nine points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. With her four assists, Martin improved her career total to 347 and is tied for ninth in program history for career assists with Carlisa Thomas (1983-87).

In the fourth quarter, K-State scored a season-high 29 points by shooting 61.1 percent in the final stanza. The Wildcats were 4-of-5 from beyond the arc in the final quarter, as Ranke connected on three attempts and Goth added the fourth.

Kansas State concludes the non-conference portion of its schedule on Thursday, as the Wildcats host Northern Iowa at 7 p.m.

— K-State Athletics —

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State junior D.J. Reed earned two more All-America honors on Monday as he was named a Second Team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and a third-teamer by the Associated Press.

Reed, who picked up Walter Camp Second Team All-America accolades last week, was honored as a kick returner by the FWAA and an all-purpose player by the AP. He is the first Wildcat to be named to the FWAA team since Tyler Lockett in 2014, while it is the second time in three years a K-State returner has picked up All-America honors from the AP (Morgan Burns, 2015).

A product of Bakersfield, California, Reed enters the bowl season second nationally in kickoff returns (35.3 yards per return) and punt returns (17.1), which includes a 99-yard kickoff-return touchdown at Kansas and a 62-yard punt return score against Central Arkansas. A 2017 First Team All-Big 12 kick returner, Reed is the first Wildcat since Terence Newman in 2002 to return have a kickoff-return touchdown and a non-blocked punt-return touchdown in the same season.

Reed enters the 2017 Cactus Bowl holding the top mark in Big 12 history in single-season kickoff-return average, while his 32.7-yard career average ranks second in school history and his punt-return average this year ranks sixth.

Kansas State takes on UCLA in the 2017 Cactus Bowl inside Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday, December 26. The game kicks off at 8 p.m. (CT) and will be televised nationally on ESPN.

— K-State Athletics —

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Tulsa coach Frank Haith sent precocious guard Elijah Joiner into Saturday night’s nip-and-tuck game against Kansas State with a few minutes left and a simple message to remember.

“I said, `Hey, you get an open look, you take it,” Haith recalled later, “so for a freshman, I guess that means if I’m in the arena, I’m taking the shot.”

He knocked it down with veteran poise.

The deep shot from right in front of his bench gave Tulsa the lead with just over three minutes to go, and the Golden Hurricane held on to beat the Wildcats 61-54 in a sloppy, defensive slugfest.

“I thought our guys played with great toughness,” said Haith, who is no stranger to the Wildcats from his days coaching Missouri in the Big 12. “I thought we made some tough shots down the stretch, and I thought everybody that played contributed.”

Junior Etou had 22 points and seven rebounds, and Martins Igbanu added 10 points, as the Golden Hurricane (5-4) overcame the loss of junior guard DaQuan Jeffries. Their third-leading scorer at nearly 12 points a game hurt his hand on the rim in practice and could miss the next two months.

The loss of their best athlete forced Haith to implement a series of zone defenses, including one he installed just this week. That befuddled the Wildcats (8-2), who missed all nine of their field-goal attempts over the final five-plus minutes and wound up 4 for 31 from beyond the 3-point arc.

“The first half we ran offense and got good corner shots and we just missed them,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “Those corner 3s were open, we didn’t make them, then I think the second half we panicked a bit and forced some action, got a little uncharacteristic.”

Xavier Sneed had two of the 3-pointers and finished with 15 points and eight boards for the Wildcats. Dean Wade had 13 points, Kamau Stokes had 11 and Barry Brown finished with 10.

“Just a bad shooting night,” said Stokes, who along with Brown combined to go 1 for 15 from the 3-point arc. “We just didn’t make the shots that we normally make.”

The Wildcats, who entered the game 13th nationally in scoring defense, forced Tulsa into as many turnovers (11) in the first half as made field goals. Etou had four of them as he struggled to deal with the pesky hands of the Wildcats’ perimeter players.

Still, the Golden Hurricane trailed just 30-27 at halftime, and they used an early flurry of points in the second half to pull ahead on Etou’s 3-pointer with 12:38 to go.

The game remained a nip-and-tuck affair down the stretch, neither team ever leading by more than six until the final seconds, when Tulsa was able to put things away.

“This was the very first game were we put everything together as a team, and that feels good,” the Golden Hurricane’s Martins Igbanu said. “Some games we were guarding the ball but we didn’t rebound well and some games we were missing assignments. We still missed assignments but we played through it.”

STRANGE DOMINANCE

Tulsa improved to 6-1 against the Wildcats in a series dating to 1932. The teams were playing the first game of a three-game series between schools that are within driving distance of each other.

BIG PICTURE

Tulsa won a defensive slugfest despite 15 turnovers, including eight from Etou. A big reason was the Golden Hurricane’s perimeter defense and work on the boards, where they out-rebounded the Wildcats 40-30 despite giving up several inches in the paint.

Kansas State was trying to match its best start under Weber, but instead watched a 23-game non-conference home win streak come to an end. The Wildcats considered the game at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita a home game even though it was a 2-hour drive from their campus in Manhattan.

UP NEXT

Tulsa begins a two-game homestand against Prairie View A&M on Thursday night.

Kansas State gets a week off before facing Southeast Missouri State next Saturday.

— Associated Press —