K-State senior Nino Williams has earned Phillips 66 Co-Big 12 Player of the Week honors for the second time this season after posting back-to-back 20-point games in helping K-State to a split of two games last week.

Williams shared the weekly honor with Baylor’s Rico Gathers.

Williams averaged 21.0 points on 69.2 percent shooting ( 18-of-26 ) with 7.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals in 31.5 minutes per game in helping he Wildcats to a split of games with Iowa State and Oklahoma State.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Nino Williams would have fit right in during the era of short-shorts, when set shots were the norm and there was no such thing as a 3-point line.

Then again, Kansas State’s senior forward is doing just fine these days, too.

Williams kept pouring in jumpers while scoring 20 points, and the Wildcats led from start to finish in a 63-53 victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday.

“That midrange shot, he’s got it down,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said, “and it’s not something — any midrange basketball — is not part of today’s basketball world.”

Marcus Foster and Justin Edwards added 14 points apiece for the Wildcats (12-8, 5-2 Big 12), who avenged a loss to the Cowboys earlier this month by winning for the fifth time in six games.

The Wildcats shot 57 percent from the field, going 12 of 16 in the second half.

“It’s a good team win,” said Williams, who was 10 for 13 from the field. “Like coach said, everybody played well, everybody did something.”

Phil Forte scored 22 points and Le’Bryan Nash had 13, but the only other Cowboys player with more than one field goal was Michael Cobbins. He was 2 for 4 and had seven points.

“We have capable guys of stepping up. They’ve done it before, they’ve proven it,” Forte said. “Just have to keep them believing, not get down on themselves.”

Oklahoma State (13-6, 3-4) still has not won at Bramlage Coliseum since 2010.

“There’s a lot of leagues we would have won the game today, even on our off day,” Cowboys coach Travis Ford said. “Not in this league, not today.”

Williams had 12 points and Foster eight in the first half, nearly outscoring Oklahoma State by themselves. The Wildcats led the Cowboys 31-21 at the break.

The lead was a credit to Kansas State’s defense more than anything.

Foster spent the entire game in Forte’s back pocket, preventing the Big 12’s third-leading scorer from getting any open looks. The junior sharpshooter was 1 for 4 from the field in the first half, his only make a long 3-pointer, and managed just six points.

Things were a struggle for him right from the start. On the Cowboys’ first possession, Forte threw up an off-balanced jumper as the shot clock expired. Realizing it was off line, he tried to jump into a defender, but the officials refused to call the foul. Ford exploded on the sideline, earning a technical foul less than a minute into the game.

Foster made both free throws for the Wildcats, who were off and running.

Oklahoma State kept trying to whittle into its deficit in the second half, closing to 37-30 on Forte’s 3-pointer with 15:47 left, then within 42-35 on Nash’s jumper with 11:25 to go.

The high-scoring duo didn’t get a whole lot of help, though, and the more balanced Wildcats kept answering the call. Edwards continually got to the foul line, and big man Thomas Gipson’s back-to-back dunks down the stretch create some breathing room.

“We never made a run,” Ford said. “Never made a big shot.”

Nash’s basket got Oklahoma State within 58-49 with 2:52 remaining, but a couple wasted chances followed by Edwards’ 3-pointer with just over a minute left put the game away.

“It’s a good confidence-booster,” Williams said, “but it’s over now. On to the next game.”

TIP-INS

Oklahoma State has not swept a season series from the Wildcats since 1994. … The Cowboys are 2-5 in true road games. … Nash has scored in double figures in 18 straight games.

Kansas State committed just one turnover in the first half. … The Wildcats honored former coach Tex Winter by renaming the road outside the arena “Tex Winter Drive” prior to the game.

HOME COOKING

Kansas State improved to 42-5 at home under Weber, including 20-2 in Big 12 play. “You have to defend the home court in this league,” he said.

SLOW STARTS

Oklahoma State has struggled early in games, and this one was no exception. Kansas State led 8-2 after the first 3 minutes. “It’s frustrating,” Ford said, “but that’s life on the road.”

UP NEXT

Oklahoma State returns home to face No. 21 Baylor on Tuesday night.

Kansas State continues its homestand Tuesday night against No. 18 West Virginia.

— Associated Press —

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Monte Morris hit a floater with 37 seconds left and No. 9 Iowa State held off Kansas State 77-71 on Tuesday night, moving into a tie for first place in the Big 12.

Jameel McKay had 15 points off the bench for the Cyclones (14-3, 4-1), who joined No. 11 Kansas atop the league. Iowa State beat Kansas in Ames 86-81 on Saturday.

Kansas State turned it over at mid-court after Morris put the Cyclones ahead 73-69. That miscue allowed Iowa State to seal the game at the line.

Nino Williams had a season-high 22 points for Kansas State (11-8, 4-2), whose winning streak was snapped at four games.

Kansas State made a surprising early run through the Big 12 by playing great defense. The Wildcats held their last four opponents to just 57 points on 38.3 percent shooting per game.

K-State had yet to see an offense as potent as Iowa State, the Big 12’s leader at 80.3 points per game entering play.

But the Wildcats pushed the Cyclones for over 39 minutes with some offense of their own.

Williams turned a steal into a layup to help K-State jump ahead 54-49, as the Wildcats hit 6 of their first 10 shots to open the second half.

Iowa State finally retook the lead, 71-69, with 2:48 left on a pair of Naz Long free throws following a crucial block by Abdel Nader. McKay then grabbed a loose ball and wisely called timeout with 1:09 left and the Cyclones still up by two.

Georges Niang had 14 points and Morris and Nader each had 11 for Iowa State.

Kansas State was 15 of 16 from the free throw line, and Marcus Foster scored 16 points. But the Wildcats went four minutes without scoring down the stretch, and they allowed their most points since Purdue scored 79 on them on Nov. 24.

TIP-INS

Iowa State: The Cyclones are 4-1 in the Big 12 for the first time since 1999-2000. They won the Big 12 regular season title that season. Iowa State has also won 17 straight at home.

Kansas State: Williams scored 10 points in the opening 7:08. The Wildcats finished the first half on a 9-3 run to close to within 39-38.

UP NEXT

Iowa State visits Texas Tech on Saturday.

Kansas State hosts Oklahoma State on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Nino Williams possess an old man’s game. He loves to shoot baseline jumpers, prefers layups to dunks. The next time he takes a 3-pointer might just be the first.

In short, he has the perfect game for taking down Baylor’s zone defense.

Kansas State’s senior forward had 18 points to fuel a big second-half rally Saturday, and then helped the Wildcats force hot-handed guard Kenny Chery into missing a layup at the buzzer that preserved a 63-61 victory over the No. 22 Bears.

“I thought I was in the groove,” Williams said. “I got a couple of easy ones, the crowd got into it. Once the crowd got into it, everyone had energy.”

Marcus Foster added 11 points and Thomas Gipson finished with nine for the Wildcats (10-7, 4-1 Big 12), who have bounced back from an ugly non-conference run to win their fourth straight.

“They’ve come back and fought and listened and been coachable, and that’s what we talk about a lot: We try to stay positive,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said.

The Wildcats trailed by as many as 12 in the second half before taking their first lead with about 6 minutes to go. The Bears (13-4, 2-3) were still within 61-58 with 45 seconds left, but Chery and Lester Medford each missed open 3-pointers that would have tied it.

Nigel Johnson made one of two foul shots for Kansas State, and Chery quickly raced the other way for layup with 5.4 seconds to go. And after Thomas Gipson was fouled and made his second of two free throws, Chery’s runner to the left of the lane bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.

Chery, who hit the winner with 4 seconds left against No. 11 Iowa State this week, finished with 21 points for Baylor. Taurean Prince added 20 points off the bench.

“First, you have to give them credit on the defense, and second, we made some mistakes, too,” Baylor coach Scott Drew. “There’s some layups we missed that you have to make in Big 12 play.”

The Bears made life miserable for the Wildcats at the start, turning them over six times in the first 5 minutes and building a 13-2 lead by the time many fans had found their seats.

Kansas State, no defensive slouch itself, finally settled into a rhythm midway through the half. Starting with a dunk by pint-sized point guard Jevon Thomas, the Wildcats rattled off a 12-0 run over more than 7 minutes, whittling a 14-point lead to 24-22 with 2:04 left.

Prince and Chery answered with consecutive 3-pointers, and then Chery knocked down one more in Thomas’s face as the buzzer sounded to give Baylor a 33-24 halftime lead.

The Bears kept the defensive pressure up in the second half, double-teaming at the top of the key and forcing Kansas State’s inconsistent post players to beat them.

The plan was working for a while as Baylor held tight to a 51-42 lead with 9:26 to go. But about the same time Foster went to the bench with his fourth foul, the Wildcats took off, driving the lane for fouls and going on a 17-2 charge that allowed them to take their first lead.

Despite a nip-and-tuck final few minutes, the Wildcats held on for their 11th win in their last 14 games against ranked teams at Bramlage Coliseum.

“Everybody in the Big 12 is a good team. Nobody can really get comfortable at home,” Williams said. “We were fortunate to make a couple of easy baskets.”

BIG COMEBACK

The 14-point comeback was the 12th-largest in Kansas State history, and the largest since 2011. It culminated with the Wildcats’ sixth straight win against a Top 25 team at home.

CHECK THE CLOCK

Baylor led for 31 minutes, 44 seconds, and the game was tied for 2:31. That means Kansas State led for less than 6 minutes total, including when it mattered the most.

TIP-INS

Baylor lost for the second time this season (13-2) when scoring at least 60 points. … The Bears, ranked third nationally in offensive rebounds, had 17 of them.

Kansas State shot 59 percent from the field in the second half. … The Wildcats have held 11 straight opponents below 65 points, their best stretch since 18 in a row in 1982-83.

UP NEXT

Baylor dips out of league play Wednesday night to face Huston-Tillotson, an NAIA school.

Kansas State plays its second game in a stretch of five straight against Top 25 opponents on Tuesday night at No. 11 Iowa State.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State coach Bruce Weber called a 58-51 victory over Texas Tech on Wednesday night a “maturity game,” the kind of performance that proves just how far a team has come.

The Wildcats didn’t play all that well — they were outrebounded, frequently out-hustled, and struggled with their shots. They allowed the Red Raiders to hang around until the closing minutes, squandering more than one opportunity to put the game away.

It was the kind of game that Kansas State might have lost earlier this season.

“Trying to come back after a really good win against Oklahoma on the road, and then we had to earn the victory,” Weber said, “and I thought we did it, we went and fought and earned it.”

Kansas State (10-7, 3-1 Big 12) led just 49-46 with 3 minutes to go, but a couple of fouls and a costly turnover by the Red Raiders’ Robert Turner allowed the Wildcats to pull away.

Thomas Gipson scored a tough bucket in the paint, and then after the turnover, Justin Edwards curled in a layup on the run-out. Jevon Thomas added two foul shots for a 54-46 advantage.

Turner, who had a game-high 16 points for Texas Tech (10-7, 0-4), knocked down a 3-pointer with 53 seconds left, but he missed another moments later that could have made it 54-52.

Instead, the Wildcats grabbed the rebound and Edwards was fouled. He made both of his free throws for a 56-49 lead with 27 seconds left, effectively putting the game away.

“We played hard tonight, gave ourselves a chance there at the end,” Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith said, “but certainly Kansas State did what they had to do to ice the game.”

Marcus Foster led the Wildcats with 14 points. Wesley Iwundu added 10.

It was the fourth straight loss to open Big 12 play for the Red Raiders, and their second defeat in the Sunflower State in the last four days. They lost at No. 9 Kansas on Saturday.

“We’ve got a tough time scoring,” Smith said. “We play good defense but we just have to manufacture points. Going with a smaller lineup has hurt.”

After the Wildcats took a 26-14 lead following a technical foul on Smith, the Red Raiders regrouped to score the next eight points. They had the ball for what should have been the final possession of the first half, too, but promptly turned it over.

Nigel Johnson’s buzzer-beating basket at the other end gave Kansas State a 28-20 lead.

Texas Tech kept whittling into the lead early in the second half, taking advantage of a big edge on the offensive boards to score easy second-chance points. The Red Raiders got within 36-35 before Foster, struggling with his shot, finally got a 3-pointer to go.

“I hadn’t made a shot in a long time,” he said.

The Red Raiders remained close the rest of the way, at one point getting back-to-back dunks from Zach Smith and Isaiah Manderson to energize their bench. But the Wildcats always seemed to have an answer, whether it was Foster on the perimeter or Gipson on the inside.

“You know, we can’t stay complacent,” Foster said. “You know, they came out and hit shots, that was the thing they did. We just got to keep grinding, defending and putting away teams.”

—

TIP-INS

Texas Tech: The Red Raiders were 8 for 8 from the foul line. … They’ve now held 14 of 17 opponents below 70 points this season. … Texas Tech got 39 points from its bench.

Kansas State: The Wildcats won despite getting outrebounded 38-30. … Kansas State went to the foul line 26 times, making 21 of them. … Kansas State was just 3 for 10 from 3-point range.

UP NEXT

Texas Tech returns home to play TCU on Saturday.

Kansas State faces No. 22 Baylor on Saturday.

DEFENSE FIRST

Kansas State has held 10 consecutive opponents below 65 points, its longest stretch since the 1982-83 season, when the Wildcats went 17 games. “That’s our identity,” Wesley Iwundu said.

PAGING KLIFF KINGSBURY

One of the big reasons Texas Tech has struggled to score, coach Tubby Smith said, has been poor play at point guard. “Most teams need someone who can really distribute the ball, just like a good quarterback,” he said. “Somebody who can hit guys in stride, in the end zone. That’s what we have trouble with. We’ve really missed people open all year long.”

— Associated Press —

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Marcus Foster made perhaps the biggest shot of his Kansas State career, then followed it with a bigger one a few minutes later.

His floater forced overtime, then he drained a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left in the extra period for the winner as the Wildcats beat No. 16 Oklahoma 66-63 on Saturday night.

Foster said he enjoyed playing the role of childhood hero Kobe Bryant. It was the sophomore’s first game winner since his senior year of high school.

“Growing up, all I did was watch Kobe,” he said. “I watched Kobe in his prime, and he was still making game winners and big shots, so it’s something I always imagined myself doing at the college level.”

On the floater in regulation, the 6-foot-3 Foster had to get the shot over Oklahoma’s 6-8 Ryan Spangler.

“It definitely felt good when it left my hand,” he said. “As soon as I seen it go over Spangler’s hands, it felt good. I knew it was going in.”

In overtime, it was just a matter of using proper fundamentals.

“I was confident with the three,” he said. “As soon as I got my feet set … I knew it was going in.”

Oklahoma’s TaShawn Thomas missed a 3-pointer that could have forced a second overtime as time expired.

Stephen Hurt scored a season-high 15 points, Foster scored 14 and Thomas Gipson added 10 for the Wildcats (9-7, 2-1 Big 12), who have rebounded after a sluggish start.

“It’s a big-time win,” Foster said. “Oklahoma’s a very good team — in my eyes, one of the best teams in the conference — so this is a really big win for us, especially being away.”

Buddy Hield scored a career-high 31 points for Oklahoma (11-4, 2-1). He made a layup with 28 seconds remaining in overtime to tie the score before Foster’s shot. Thomas had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Spangler had nine points and nine rebounds for the Sooners, who were coming off back-to-back double-digit wins over ranked opponents Baylor and Texas.

Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said his team let its guard down.

“That’s human nature,” he said. “That’s what we were talking about all week: Are we good enough, mature enough, to handle a couple good ball games and take care of business, and we weren’t. Credit Kansas State for that.”

Kansas State held Oklahoma to 40 percent shooting. Hield made 11 of 20 shots for the Sooners, but the rest of the team made just 12 of 37.

Foster’s layup with 35 seconds to play snapped a scoreless run of more than 5 minutes for Kansas State and cut Oklahoma’s lead to 55-53. Spangler missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 33 seconds left, leaving Kansas State in the game. Foster’s floater with 6 seconds left forced overtime. Oklahoma could have won at the end of regulation, but Jordan Woodard’s 3-pointer rattled out as time expired.

Hield scored 13 of Oklahoma’s first 15 points and had 20 points at halftime, but his teammates were cold, and Kansas State led 31-30 at the break.

A jumper by Hurt put Kansas State up 39-34, and a 3-pointer by Justin Edwards pushed the Wildcats’ lead to eight early in the second half.

Oklahoma inched back into the game as foul trouble ramped up for the Wildcats. A steal and dunk by Spangler gave the Sooners a 46-45 lead with just over 8 minutes to play and brought the crowd back into the game, and it was close the rest of the way.

TIP-INS

Kansas State: The Wildcats had 20 assists on 30 baskets. … Kansas State made just three free throws, but two were critical ones in overtime. … The Wildcats made 54 percent of their shots in the first half while Oklahoma shot just 33 percent.

Oklahoma: Kruger was Big 8 player of the year for Kansas State in 1973 and 1974 and later coached there. … Oklahoma had just four assists. … Woodard and Isaiah Cousins combined to shoot 2-for-15 from the field.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT

Foster on his struggles before getting hot late in regulation: “I was struggling at that time, so I was just trying to concentrate on knowing that my next shot was going to go in.”

STAR POWER

Hield made 5 of 9 3-pointers and had five rebounds and three steals. The preseason all-conference pick entered the game averaging 15.8 points per game.

“He was big time tonight,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said.

UP NEXT

Kansas State: plays host to Texas Tech on Wednesday.

Oklahoma: at West Virginia on Tuesday.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Marcus Foster scored 23 points off the bench and Kansas State took advantage of some cold shooting by TCU for a 58-53 victory Wednesday night that snapped a three-game losing streak.

Kansas State led most of the way, but TCU was still within 48-44 with 1:14 left when Nino Williams was fouled near midcourt. The senior forward was hurt on the play, and Foster was picked to shoot the free throws, calmly draining both to extend the Wildcats’ lead.

Kyan Anderson missed a jumper at the other end, and the ball wound up in the hands of Foster, who had been benched the past two games. He made two more foul shots to put the game away.

Williams finished with eight points and nine rebounds for the Wildcats (8-7, 1-1 Big 12), who appeared to have put a horrendous nonconference season behind them. Their seven wins before the start of league play was their fewest since 2001-02.

Trey Zeigler had 19 points to lead the Horned Frogs, who started 13-0 but have dropped their first two Big 12 games. Anderson, their top scorer, had eight points on 2-for-7 shooting.

— Associated Press —

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Even with a 31-6 halftime lead, UCLA coach Jim Mora knew the Bruins had a lot of work to do to finish off Kansas State in the Alamo Bowl.

“We’re playing the 11th-ranked team in the country, and it’s not going to be easy,” Mora said. “You know they’re going to fight back. If they don’t fight back, they don’t deserve to be No. 11.”

The No. 14 Bruins held on, beating the Wildcats 40-35 on Friday night.

Kansas State coach Bill Snyder bristled at the thought that TV broadcasters might say the same thing about his Wildcats that they did about Florida State in the Rose Bowl.

“We had a TV announcer indicate in another ballgame that a football team had quit, and that’s the last thing in the world anybody wants to hear on national TV, I assure you,” Snyder said. “I reminded our youngsters of it, that we weren’t about to let somebody say that about us. And they didn’t.”

Kansas State (9-4) scored 22 of the first 25 points in the second half, cutting it to 34-28 on quarterback Jake Waters’ 1-yard run with 4:54 left.

Paul Perkins countered for UCLA (10-3) with a 67-yard run with 2:20 to go.

“That hole was huge. Anybody could have run through it,” said Perkins, who ran for 194 yards on 20 carries. “And on the kick, I just wanted to secure the ball and get us out of here with the win.”

The Wildcats weren’t finished.

Waters threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett with 1:21 left, but Perkins recovered the onside kick for UCLA and the Bruins ran out the clock.

“Our players didn’t give in,” Snyder said. “Fought back. It wasn’t enough.”

It’s been a week of big comebacks at bowl games. Michigan State trailed Baylor by 20 in the fourth quarter at the Cotton Bowl and won 42-41. Earlier Friday, Houston scored 29 points in the fourth quarter to beat Pittsburgh 35-34 in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Waters was 31 of 48 for 338 yards, but was sacked seven times — twice by Butkus Award winner Eric Kendricks — and threw two interceptions and lost a fumble.

Lockett had 13 catches for 164 yards for Kansas State.

Hundley ran for 96 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries and passed for 136 yards. Mora has said Hundley is forgoing his senior season to enter the NFL draft.

UCLA raced to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter, with Hundley scoring on runs of 10 and 28 yards. The Bruins outgained Kansas State 218-4 and had a 9-1 edge in first downs in the quarter.

In the second quarter, Perkins had a 32-yard touchdown run and Hundley threw a 7-yard scoring pass to Devin Lucien. The Bruins sacked Waters five times in the half.

“By my count we left 28 points on the field in the first half,” Snyder said. “That’s our fault.”

— Associated Press —