STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Kansas State finally made the plays late to claim its first Big 12 road win.

Barry Brown scored 22 points to help the Wildcats defeat Oklahoma State 96-88 on Wednesday night.

D.J. Johnson scored 18 points and Wesley Iwundu added 15 for the Wildcats (14-4, 3-3 Big 12), who had lost two straight and three of four to fall out of the Top 25. Included are a 2-point loss at Kansas and a one-point loss at Texas Tech.

“This is a great win for us,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “Last year, we didn’t win that many road games, and to come in here and in a great atmosphere and pull this win out — it’s great for our team. We all know what we’re capable of here, and to come in here and finish this win — it’s big.”

Kansas State shot 56.3 percent from the field to deny Oklahoma State coach Brad Underwood his 100th career win.

Jeffrey Carroll matched a career high with 24 points and Jawun Evans added 20 for the Cowboys (10-8, 0-6), who lost their sixth straight and haven’t won since Dec. 22. The past five losses have come by 10 or fewer points.

“It’s very tough, because nobody likes losing,” Evans said. “We’re playing great teams, we just got to have that dog in this, get one win at least.”

Underwood, a Kansas State graduate who later was an assistant coach there, was disappointed that the Cowboys didn’t defend well enough to give themselves a chance in the 1,000th Oklahoma State game played at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

“We are struggling to guard the ball and we haven’t fought very well to do it,” Underwood said. “Iwundu just jumped over the top of us. It didn’t matter what we did, man or zone, but it’s a trend. It’s a bad one for us.”

Oklahoma State led 54-51 at halftime behind 15 points from Carroll and 14 from Evans. Kansas State shot 53 percent, but trailed because Oklahoma State made 9 of 14 3-pointers before the break.

The Wildcats led for most of the second half, but Oklahoma State kept it close. Kansas State finally gained control for good in the final minutes. Johnson was fouled while making a putback basket, and the free throw put the Wildcats up eight with just over two minutes to play. Brown followed with a 3-pointer from NBA range to make it an 11-point game.

“We talked the last few days about having the right attitude,” Weber said. “It’s got to be about us and doing it together, coming in with emotion. We had to fight. They’re feisty.”

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The Wildcats could jump back into the Top 25 if they can knock off No. 7 West Virginia on Saturday. The Mountaineers lost at home to Oklahoma on Wednesday night and will need a win to stay within range of conference leaders Kansas (6-0) and Baylor (5-1).

EVANS SLUMP

Evans made 7 of 17 shots against Kansas State and has connected on just 27 of 84 shots from the field during the six-game losing skid.

MISSED FREE THROW

Oklahoma State’s Phil Forte missed a free throw. That’s not normally news, but Forte entered the night as the nation’s leader in free throw percentage (.962). It was only his third miss of the season.

STAT LINES

Johnson, the conference leader in field goal percentage at just under 63 percent entering the night, improved his percentage by making 7 of 9. … Iwundu reached the 1,000 point mark in career points.

UP NEXT

Kansas State hosts No. 7 West Virginia on Saturday.

Oklahoma State plays at Texas Tech on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Breanna Lewis scored 21 points and had four blocks, Kindred Wesemann hit five 3-pointers to become ranked fifth in school history with 232 career 3s, and No. 22 Kansas State used a big third quarter on Wednesday night win its fourth straight, beating TCU 74-63.

Tied at 27 at halftime after making only 1 of 6 from behind the arc, Wesemann made three 3s, Kaylee Page added another, and Kansas State opened the third quarter with a 14-3 run. Wesemann hit her fourth 3 — surpassing the 230 career 3s by Kimberly Dietz (2004-08) — and the Wildcats led 52-40 at the end of the third.

TCU closed to 62-56 on Jada Butts’ two free throws, but Shaelyn Martin made a 3-point play and the Wildcats led by 10 with 1:23 to go.

Wesemann finished with 18 points and three steals and the Wildcats (15-4, 5-2 Big 12) outscored the Horned Frogs 38-26 in the paint.

TCU led 12-6 on a 3 by Amber Ramirez, but Page hit a 3, Lewis made a jumper amid a 7-4 run and the Wildcats trailed 16-13 at the end of the first quarter. Kansas State was up 27-22 after Lewis’ layup, but TCU’s Ramirez hit her third 3 to tie it at 27 at halftime.

Amy Okonkwo scored 13 points for TCU (9-9, 1-6), which had 13 steals.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Trailing midway through the second half, top-ranked Baylor suddenly surged to avoid a second straight loss.

Manu Lecomte scored 26 points despite early foul trouble, Ish Wainright and Al Freeman had key baskets down the stretch and the Bears outlasted No. 25 Kansas State 77-68 on Saturday.

Wainright and Freeman each had 15 points as Baylor (15-1, 3-1 Big 12) bounced back from a lopsided loss at No. 10 West Virginia in their first game as the nation’s No. 1 team.

“We were able to get some stops and get into transition and get some good looks and make a couple of 3s,” coach Scott Drew said.

Kansas State held a two-point lead with 10 minutes to go. From that point, Baylor outscored the Wildcats 32-21.

Johnathan Motley was held to seven points and nine rebounds before fouling out with 4:34 left and the Bears leading 62-55. But they managed to hang on down the stretch without their most dependable player.

D.J. Johnson had points to lead the Wildcats (13-4, 2-3), including two free throws after Motley fouled out to get within 62-57 with just over 4 minutes to go.

But the Wildcats were unable to make key stops the rest of the way, and the trio of Wainright, Freeman and Lecomte seemed to will the Bears to victory.

“They’re good,” Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber said.

“They’re steady and smart. They executed, they made plays and we didn’t have an answer for them,” he said.

Freeman scored with just over 3 minutes left to make it 66-58, and Wainright had a putback with just over 2 minutes left that gave the Bears a 68-60 advantage.

Barry Brown finished with 13 points, Xavier Sneed added 12 and Kamau Stokes had 10 for the Wildcats.

BIG PICTURE

Baylor: Answered a lot of critics after its poor showing in Morgantown by beating the Wildcats on the road. The Bears have won six of their last seven against Kansas State.

Kansas State: Has lost three of its last four games, including a last-second defeat at No. 2 Kansas and a loss at Texas Tech where the Wildcats also led late. Those defeats coupled with a weak nonconference schedule could haunt the Wildcats when the NCAA Tournament field is set.

UP NEXT

Baylor: Heads home to face Texas on Tuesday night.

Kansas State: Goes to Oklahoma State on Wednesday night.

POLL IMPLICATIONS: Despite being the top-ranked team, Baylor is virtually certain to fall because of its loss at West Virginia.

— Associated Press —

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Breanna Lewis scored 15 points, Eternati Willock had her first career double-double and No. 25 Kansas State defeated Oklahoma State 63-43 on Saturday.

Willock came off the bench to score 13 points and grab 13 rebounds for the Wildcats (14-4, 4-2 Big 12). Lewis and Willock combined to shoot 11 of 17 while their teammates were 13 of 42.

The Cowgirls (12-5, 2-4), who had dropped three straight — all against ranked opponents — made just 5 of 22 shots in the first half (23 percent), going 1 of 8 from 3-point range, to fall behind 29-17.

Kaylee Jensen had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Cowgirls.

Oklahoma State attempted 11 field goals in every quarter, making three in the first, then two, five and three. The Cowgirls finished 3 of 13 behind the arc and their 22 turnovers led to 21 Wildcat points.

— Associated Press —

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Keenan Evans made a go-ahead layup with 15 seconds left, helping Texas Tech beat No. 25 Kansas State 66-65 on Tuesday night.

Evans’ basket gave the Red Raiders a 63-62 lead. Aaron Ross and Niem Stevenson then combined for three foul shots for Texas Tech before Barry Brown made a 3-pointer in the final seconds for Kansas State.

Evans finished with 18 points. Zach Smith had 16 points and seven rebounds for the Red Raiders (13-3, 2-2 Big 12), who improved to 11-0 at home.

Kamau Stokes led Kansas State (13-3, 2-2) with 17 points. Dean Wade added 12 points, and D.J. Johnson finished with 11.

BIG PICTURE

Texas Tech: The Red Raiders went 20 for 26 at the line, compared to 13 for 18 for the Wildcats. The difference in free throws helped make up for Kansas State’s 10-for-20 night from beyond the arc. The victory could help Texas Tech get into the poll next week.

Kansas State: The Wildcats had won eight of nine, with the lone loss coming against Kansas.

UP NEXT

Texas Tech: Visits Oklahoma on Saturday night. The Sooners lost 81-70 to No. 2 Kansas on Tuesday night, dropping to 0-4 in the Big 12.

Kansas State: Hosts No. 1 Baylor on Saturday. The Bears got their first loss of the season on Tuesday night, falling 89-68 to No. 10 West Virginia.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Following a season in which he recorded 11.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks, Kansas State defensive end Reggie Walker has been named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), the organization announced Monday.

Walker is the sixth Wildcat to earn the honor since the FWAA began naming Freshman All-American teams in 2001. He is the first K-State player to be honored since place kicker Matthew McCrane made the squad in 2014, while he is the first Wildcat defender to earn a spot on the team since defensive back Ty Zimmerman in 2010.

A product of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, Walker was seventh overall in the Big 12 in sacks and eighth in TFLs but was tops among freshmen in both categories. He was also second in school history in sacks among freshmen, just 1.5 shy of the school record held by Dwyane Castille in 1984.

In addition to his sacks and TFLs, Walker concluded his initial campaign with 39 total tackles, three forced fumbles and a pair of fumble recoveries, tying for third and eighth, respectively, in the final two categories.

Walker’s inclusion on the FWAA list is in addition other multiple honors this year as he was a First Team Freshman All-American by Campus Insiders and the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year by the league’s coaches and ESPN.com.

K-State opens the 2017 season at home by hosting Central Arkansas on Saturday, September 2. The Wildcats return 18 players that made at least one start this past season on a team that earned a 9-4 record and defeated Texas A&M in the 2016 Texas Bowl.

— K-State Athletics —

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State came close to upsetting in-state rival Kansas earlier this week. That anger and frustration of not pulling off the upset was used as fuel to push the Wildcats into Saturday’s matchup with Oklahoma.

Wesley Iwundu led a balanced attack with 16 points and Kansas State used a strong first half to defeat the Sooners 75-64.

Barry Brown added 14 points, Kamau Stokes 13, Dean Wade 12 and D.J. Johnson 10 for the Wildcats (13-2, 2-1 Big 12).

“I thought they were great,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “I told them to come out angry, I said guard the heck out of them, push and share the ball.”

Kansas State started out fast, opening a 14-3 lead and building it to 43-27 at the half on 54 percent shooting (15 of 28) as Stokes scored 13 and Wade 10. The pair combined to go 5 of 6 on 3-pointers.

“I thought Kansas State opened the ballgame well, they obviously played sharp and set the tone.” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger, a former player at coach at K-State, said.

The Sooners, who shot 38 percent in the first half, shot 68 percent (15 of 22) in the second, got within six midway through the half but could get no closer.

“We just tried to fight, compete and come back. We tried to do whatever it takes to do that,” Oklahoma’s Rashard Odomes said.

Kameron McGusty came off the bench to score 20 points for Oklahoma (6-8, 0-3), which lost its sixth straight.

Although the Sooners are in the middle of a lengthy losing streak, they remain optimistic about breaking through and getting that elusive conference win.

“Each game we come out confident,” Odomes said. “I feel like we have confident players that are working to try and get it done. Game after game we try to improve.”

BIG PICTURE

Oklahoma: The loss is the fifth-straight in Manhattan, dating back to 2012.

Kansas State: The win was the 250th in Bramlage Coliseum.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

Oklahoma’s turnovers quickly became Kansas State points as the Wildcats scored 18 points off of Oklahoma miscues. Oklahoma also turned Kansas State points into double digit scores as they cashed in 13 points off of Kansas State turnovers.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma: The Sooners host No.3 ranked Kansas on Tuesday.

Kansas State: The Wildcats are at Texas Tech on Tuesday.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Freshman Eternati Willock scored nine of her season-high 13 points in the first half when No. 25 Kansas State took a 10-point lead and the Wildcats beat Texas Tech 68-54 on Saturday night.

Willock was 5-of-11 shooting with eight rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench. Kindred Wesemann added 11 points with Peyton Williams, Kaylee Page and Breanna Lewis adding 10 each, along with 11 rebounds from Lewis.

Page gave Kansas State a 23-20 lead with a layup and 3-pointer in the second quarter and the Wildcats finished the half on a seven-point run. The lead fluctuated between seven and 10 points until the Wildcats used a 5-0 spurt for a 13-point edge with 6 1/2 minutes left, a double-figure lead they would extend to 16 in the final minute.

Arella Guirantes scored 10 points to lead the Lady Raiders (10-5, 2-2).

— Associated Press —

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Vionise Pierre-Louis scored seven of her 17 points in overtime and Gabbi Ortiz hit a pair of clutch free throws with five seconds left to insure No. 20 Oklahoma an 85-80 win over No. 25 Kansas State in a Big 12 Conference battle between ranked teams Wednesday night.

The Sooners now are 3-0 to start conference play.

Oklahoma (12-3, 3-0) led by a dozen points early in the fourth quarter but the Wildcats roared back when the Sooners went cold from the field. Kindred Wesemann tied the game and Breanna Lewis’ layup with 1:47 left gave the Wildcats the lead, 63-61. Maddie Manning pulled the Sooners even with a jumper with under a minute left in regulation and Lewis put Kansas State ahead once again with another layup. Ortiz tied the game at 67-67 with a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left in regulation and when Karyla Middlebrook’s jumper with :03 left missed, the game went to overtime.

Manning, who finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds, knocked down a 3-pointer a minute into the extra period to put Oklahoma up for good, 72-69. Ortiz added 16 points.

Middlebrook led Kansas State (11-4, 1-2) with 27 points on 10 of 19 shooting from the field. Lewis added 15 points.

The Wildcats lost their opener at Baylor before posting an 86-71 win over West Virginia as the team faced three straight conference games against ranked opponents.

— Associated Press —