MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — After watching Kansas State break its arena record for fewest points in a half, Georgia coach Mark Fox felt his team was in for a second-half dogfight.

The Bulldogs surrendered a 15-point lead, but a key 3-pointer from Nemanja Djurisic sparked a game-ending 7-0 run to give them a win in their final road game in non-conference play Wednesday.

Charles Mann had 17 points and Marcus Thornton had 11 points as Georgia knocked off Kansas State 50-46.

“We talked mostly at the half about that,” Bulldogs coach Mark Fox said. “(We said), `Get ready because they’re going to test your manhood. We’re going to have to stand up and answer it.’ Fortunately, the last three minutes we did it.”

Mann led the Bulldogs in scoring for a second consecutive game and fourth time this season.

With the loss, Kansas State has dropped back-to-back non-conference home games for the first time since 1987. Thomas Gipson led Kansas State with 19 points, including a 7-of-10 performance from the free-throw line.

After falling behind by as many as 15 points, Kansas State built a 46-43 lead with 2:50 left.

However, Djurisic’s 3-pointer thwarted its momentum, giving Georgia a 47-46 lead with 1:05 left.

The Bulldogs made three of their four final free throws to clinch the road victory.

Gipson, who was coming off the bench for the first time this season, ignited Kansas State’s late 15-4 scoring run with seven points. The offensive push cut Georgia’s lead to 39-35 with 7:33 left.

Kansas State dug itself out of an offensive hole, overcoming a 21.7 percent shooting performance in the first half.

A turnover-laden first 20 minutes came back to bite the Wildcats, however, as control of the game’s opening half fell in the hands of Mann and company.

A technical on Fox propelled the Bulldogs on a 12-2 scoring run over the final 10 minutes of the first half.

Despite shooting 28.6 percent from the field (6 of 21), Georgia took a 20-12 lead into the locker room. It benefited from 16 Kansas State turnovers in the first half and scored 16 points off of the miscues.

The turnover-heavy game included a stretch of seven Wildcat turnovers in the game’s opening seven minutes. The miscues forced Kansas State coach Bruce Weber to mix and match his lineups.

“You can’t turn it over like that,” Weber said. “You’ve got to play hard and do the things it takes otherwise we’ve got to play other people.”

Kansas State’s 12 first-half points were the second fewest in school history, falling behind an 11-point first half against Oklahoma State on Jan. 6, 1992.

COMING `HOME’

Bramlage Coliseum wasn’t foreign to Fox as he grew up in Garden City, Kansas and spent six seasons courtside in Manhattan from 1994-2000.

“Coach (Jack) Hartman, (Tex) Winter and (Tom) Asbury taught me so much when I was here,” Fox said. “It was very emotional coming back. It was more emotional than any game I’ve coached outside of the game after my dad died last year.”

TYING RECORDS

The combined 96 points tied a Bramlage Coliseum record for the fewest in a game. The previous record was set on Dec. 29, 2012 when Kansas State knocked off UMKC 52-44.

TIP-IN

The game was only the second to take place between the two programs. Kansas State won the only other matchup 82-79 in overtime during the NCAA West Regional First Round on March 12, 1987.

UP NEXT

K-State opens Big 12 play at Oklahoma State on Saturday

Georgia plays Norfolk State on Saturday

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Less than a second was all it took.

That’s all Texas Southern needed to turn a two-point deficit into 58-56 win over Kansas State on Sunday.

Chris Thomas’ offensive rebound and putback tied it at 56 with 0.9 seconds left and, after Kansas State threw the inbounds pass away, Jason Carter hit a jumper as time expired, giving the Tigers their second win over 2014 NCAA tournament teams in eight days. Texas Southern beat then-No. 25 Michigan State 71-64 on Dec. 20.

“I did not see it coming,” Carter said. “I just got the ball and finished the play. It was just a lucky shot.”

A three-point play by Thomas Gipson and a layup by Marcus Foster gave Kansas State (8-4) a 54-48 lead with 1:45 remaining.

Chris Thomas made a layup to pull Texas Southern (3-9) within four. After Gipson made a free throw, a layup by Madarious Gibbs made it 55-52 with 16 seconds left.

A free throw by Nino Williams pushed the Kansas State lead back to four. Tonnie Collier made the first two of three free throws and Thomas put back the third to tie the game at 56 with .9 seconds to play.

After Jevon Thomas threw the inbounds pass away, Texas Southern got the ball out of bounds, setting up Carter’s winner.

Kansas State made 2 of 8 free throws in the final 69 seconds.

“We did not have any energy,” Gipson said. “That is where we lost it. I am pretty sure if people had energy, they would step up and make their free throws with confidence. I obviously did not, JT (Jevon Thomas) did not, and other people did not so that is what happens.”

Thomas and Gibbs scored 15 apiece for Texas Southern.

Marcus Foster had 17 points and three assists, Nino Williams added 11 points and five rebounds for Kansas State, which darted out to a 9-0 lead in the first 4 minutes. For the majority of the first half it was all Wildcats, led by Foster and his trio of 3s.

“We had a good start to the game and the 9-2, 15-5 start,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “We had some turnovers and had some times we let them get some rebounds and allow them to get their heads up. We were still grinding it out at half time. We knew it was going to be a low scoring game. We fought and had the game won, but some crazy things happened at the end.”

After making 2 of 9 shots to start the game, Texas Southern trailed by as many as 11 before closing the first half with an 8-3 run. The Tigers trailed 23-31 at halftime.

“I thought they came out that first part of the game and put us on our heels,” Texas Southern coach Mike Davis said. “We settled down, moved the ball and played with a good tempo.”

A three-point play by Thomas with 17:32 to play gave the Tigers their first lead of the game, 28-27.

A jumper by Gibbs gave Texas Southern its biggest lead of the game, 43-36, midway through the second half, but Kansas State scored 12 in a row and didn’t trail again until Carter’s buzzer-beater.

—

TIP-INS

Kansas State: The Wildcats are 71-4 at home during nonconference play since 2006-07.

Texas Southern: The Tigers are 1-1 on the season against Big 12 opponents. Texas Southern lost to Baylor back on Dec. 1.

UP NEXT

Kansas State hosts Georgia on Wednesday.

Texas Southern hosts New Mexico State on Tuesday.

QUOTABLE

“We were up 9-0, then the first media time out, and after that we were just drained. I think we were drunk emotionally, drunk on emotion.”- Nino Williams.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Texas A&M owned the stat sheet, but Kansas State owned the scoreboard.

The Aggies (7-3) had more rebounds, assists, points in the paint, and points off turnovers, and had half as many turnovers as the Wildcats (7-4), but the only stat that mattered was the final score, which showed Kansas State as a 71-64 winner in the Wildcat Classic at the Sprint Center on Saturday night.

“We won every stat,” Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy said following the game, “but we didn’t make enough tough plays when we needed to.”

Kansas State was in a de facto home game a little more than 100 miles from their Manhattan, Kansas campus, and the Wildcats used the partisan crowd to their advantage.

“Playing here is a special opportunity for our kids,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “I kept telling them that we had to take advantage of that. To have that crowd (14,884) was great, but we told them that they had to feed the crowd.”

Never was the crowd more a factor than when Wesley Iwundu grabbed a rebound on the defensive end and went end-to-end for a thunderous dunk. On the next play, he raced to get a pass that was too far in front of him and threw it over his head to teammate Nino Williams for an easy layup.

“I told him that’s the craziest dunk I’ve ever seen, in a game or watching a game,” Williams said. “He just took off.”

Williams was key for the Wildcats. He led the team with 17 points, and Weber called his game “efficient.”

“Nino was very efficient, like he’s been,” Weber said. “He knows his role. He’s a junkyard dog.”

Along with Williams, Thomas Gipson added 14 points, and Marcus Foster and Iwundu had 10 each. Texas A&M was led by Kourtney Roberson and Danuel House with 13 points each. Jordan Green had 11 and Alex Caruso 10.

“We fought at a high level,” Kennedy said. “Kansas State threw a lot of punches at us early. We responded too late.

“We’ve got pretty good character. We didn’t fold, and that was the best thing.”

The Wildcats saw their seven-point halftime lead trimmed to five points before an 11-2 run allowed them to put the game on cruise control. A 6-0 run by Texas A&M with just over four minutes remaining cut the lead to 61-54. The Wildcats missed six straight free throws to see the lead reduced to four points a couple of times, but held off the Aggies down the stretch.

Kansas State went inside early and often. After an opening 3-point basket by Justin Edwards, the Wildcats’ next nine field goals were inside the paint. It wasn’t until 6:16 remained in the first half that the Wildcats scored again from beyond 5 feet. Foster’s 3-pointer gave the Wildcats a 31-20 lead, the largest of the half.

“That’s what they were giving us,” Weber said. “They stayed with Marcus because they weren’t going to let him beat them.”

Even the first six free throws during the opening run were generated by fouls on inside play. In all, 10 of Kansas State’s 14 first-half field goals were in the paint. The Wildcats shot a sizzling 82 percent from the field in the first half.

TIP-INS

Texas A&M: Saturday’s game was the fifth of the Aggies’ six nonconference contests against teams that played in the NCAA tournament last season. The Aggies are 2/3 in those games. … Texas A&M is 7-18 against Kansas State, with most of those games coming when the Aggies were part of the Big 12 Conference. It was the first matchup between the two schools since Texas A&M left the Big 12 following the 2011-12 season.

Kansas State: The Wildcats are now 107-76 all-time in Kansas City.

STAT LINES

Nino Williams, coming off Big 12 Conference Player of the Week honors, was one of four Wildcats in double figures. He’s looking forward to some time off over the Christmas break. “He’s got a case of `old man knees,” coach Bruce Weber said. “He’s got to continue to take care of those things. But he’s been in the system and he’s learned how to make big plays.”

UP NEXT

Texas A&M hosts Mercer on Dec. 30.

Kansas State hosts Texas Southern on Dec. 28.

— Associated Press —

For the second time in his distinguished career, Kansas State senior Tyler Lockett has been named a Walter Camp All-American, the Walter Camp Foundation announced Thursday evening during the ESPN College Football Awards Show.

With the honor, Lockett has earned All-America accolades from various organizations every year of his collegiate career, becoming the first player in Kansas State history to accomplish the feat. It is the second time Lockett has been named a Walter Camp All-American as he was the first-team kick returner as a true freshman in 2011.

Lockett earned second-team honors as both a wide receiver and kick returner from the Walter Camp Foundation, which is celebrating its 125th season compiling an All-America team in 2014. He is the third player ever to be named a Walter Camp All-American at two positions in the same year.

One of the most dynamic players in the nation, Lockett has averaged 170.6 all-purpose yards per game to rank fourth nationally and lead the Big 12 by nearly 20 yards per game. He leads the conference and ranks fourth nationally with 112.6 receiving yards per game, which is buoyed by a current streak of four-straight 100-yard contests. His 93 receptions and 1,351 yards this season are second in school history to another Walter Camp All-American, current Green Bay Packer receiver Jordy Nelson (2007).

Known mainly for his kickoff-return abilities entering the 2014 campaign, Lockett has been stellar during his first year as a full-time punt returner by leading the nation with a 19.0-yard average and two touchdowns. He tallied his first career punt-return touchdown against UTEP, a 58-yarder, while he returned a punt 43 yards for a score at West Virginia.

By being named to the Walter Camp All-America team, Lockett has been invited to the organization’s national awards banquet on Saturday, January 17, 2015, at the Yale University Commons in New Haven, Connecticut. In addition, the Foundation will recognize three individuals – broadcasting legend Verne Lundquist (Distinguished American), former Notre Dame and Pittsburgh Steeler standout running back Jerome Bettis (Man of the Year) and former Air Force All-American and Dallas Cowboy Chad Hennings (Alumnus of the Year) – with major awards.

No. 11 K-State will take on No. 14 UCLA in the 2015 Valero Alamo Bowl on Friday, January 2, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The game, which kicks off at 5:45 p.m., will be televised nationally by ESPN.

Tyler Lockett’s Career All-America Honors

2011: Walter Camp (First Team KR); Sports Illustrated (Second Team KR)

2012: Sports Illustrated (Honorable Mention KR)

2013: Football Writers Association of America (Second Team WR); Sports Illustrated (Honorable Mention All-Purpose)

2014: Walter Camp (Second Team WR and KR)

— KSU Sports Information —

Led by Special Teams Player of the Year Tyler Lockett and Offensive Lineman of the Year B.J. Finney, Kansas State had 14 players named to the All-Big 12 teams as the conference office announced the coaches’ selections on Wednesday.

Lockett – a first-team member as both a wide receiver and kick returner – and Finney are the second and third players in school history to earn four-straight all-conference designations following Ty Zimmerman from 2010 to 2013. They are joined on the first team by fullback Glenn Gronkowski, defensive end Ryan Mueller and defensive back Randall Evans.

Second-team selections include quarterback Jake Waters, wide receiver Curry Sexton, offensive lineman Cody Whitehair, linebacker Jonathan Truman and defensive backs Dante Barnett and Danzel McDaniel.

Kansas State’s honorable mention selections are defensive lineman Travis Britz, place kicker Matthew McCrane and offensive lineman Boston Stiverson. Additionally, Lockett earned votes for Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, Mueller was an honorable mention Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year and linebacker Elijah Lee earned votes for Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year. Four-time Big 12 Coach of the Year Bill Snyder also earned votes for the 2014 honor.

The 14 players named to the All-Big 12 teams are tied for the third most in school history. The duo of Lockett and Sexton are the second set of receivers in school history to be named to the first or second teams as Quincy Morgan (first team) and Aaron Lockett (second team) were both honored in 1999.

Lockett is the sixth player in Big 12 history to repeat as the conference’s player of the year on either offense, defense or special teams and the second in league history to earn two special teams accolades (Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma State, 2011 and 2012). He led the Big 12 with 170.6 all-purpose yards per game – nearly 20 yards per game more than the player in second place – and also paced the conference by averaging 112.6 receiving yards per game. He held a 19.0 punt-return average (361 total yards), which included a 58-yard touchdown against UTEP and a 43-yard score at West Virginia. The Big 12’s leader in career kickoff-return average at 29.1 yards, Lockett also returned 15 kickoffs for 318 yards during his senior campaign.

A product of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Lockett, a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award, hauled in 93 receptions for 1,351 yards during the regular season to rank second in school history in both categories. The school’s career leader in catches, yards and touchdowns, Lockett ranks fourth nationally in receiving yards and ninth in receptions heading into the bowl season.

Finney, a finalist for the Rimington Trophy, has started all 51 games in his Wildcat career, including the last 50 at center. He is the first offensive lineman in school history and fifth player overall to be voted a team captain three times, while he is one of four linemen nationally with 51 consecutive starts. Finney shared Offensive Lineman of the Year honors with Baylor’s Spencer Drango.

One of the top blocking fullbacks in the league, Gronkowski has played in all 12 games with three starts and has been a receiving threat out of the backfield yet again. The sophomore, who was an honorable mention selection last season, has caught four passes for 92 yards – an average of 23 yards per catch – which included a 62-yard touchdown at then-No. 11 Oklahoma.

Mueller earned his second-straight First Team All-Big 12 designation, the first Wildcat defensive lineman to accomplish the feat since Ian Campbell in 2007 and 2008. The Leawood, Kansas, product came away with 33 tackles in 2014, including 9.5 for loss and 5.5 sacks. He pushed his career sack total to 19.5, which ranks seventh in school history.

Evans, a native of Miami, Florida, picked up All-Big 12 honors for the first time in his career. The senior ranks third on the team with 61 tackles, while he has paced the squad with four interceptions and nine pass breakups. A former walk-on, Evans is tied for third in the league in interceptions as all four came in conference play, including a current streak of three-straight games with a pick.

The second-year starter at quarterback, Waters has had a banner year by throwing for 3,163 yards and 20 touchdowns on 231-of-349 passing while adding 471 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground. He leads the Big 12 in passing efficiency among quarterbacks with at least 100 attempts with a 157.6 mark, while he is fourth in overall total offense (302.8 yds/gm) and second in conference-only total offense (320.0 yds/gm).

Waters, a product of Council Bluffs, Iowa, broke the school’s single-season record for offensive yards (3,303), while he ranks second in completions and yards, and tied for fourth in touchdowns.

A native of Abilene, Kansas, Sexton has 69 catches for 955 yards and five touchdowns this season after entering his senior campaign with three-year career totals of 50 receptions, 564 yards and one score. He ranks fourth in the Big 12 in receptions and seventh in yards, while he has teamed with Lockett for the most combined yards by two receivers in a single season in K-State history (2,306). With 45 yards in K-State’s bowl game, Sexton can record the ninth 1,000-yard season in school history and combine with Lockett to mark the first time two Wildcat receivers have eclipsed the 1,000-yard barrier in the same season.

Barnett ranks second on the team with 73 tackles, including four for loss, and three interceptions to go along with eight breakups. Four of his breakups came against Texas en route to Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors. Barnett’s defensive backfield mate, McDaniel, has 55 tackles, including five for loss, one sack and three passes defended. His lone interception of the year came at Oklahoma when he jumped a route and returned it five yards for a touchdown.

Whitehair, a native of Abilene, Kansas, earned second-team honors for the second year in a row, while Britz is also a two-time honorable mention selection. McCrane, who is 16-of-17 on field goals and broke the K-State freshman record for points with 86, is a first-time honoree along with Stiverson.

No. 11 Kansas State faces 14th-ranked UCLA in the 2015 Valero Alamo Bowl on Friday, January 2, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The game, which kicks off at 5:45 p.m., will be televised nationally by ESPN.

Coaches’ All-Big 12 Awards/Teams

Special Teams Player of the Year: Tyler Lockett

Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year: B.J. Finney

First Team All-Big 12: Glenn Gronkowski (FB), Tyler Lockett (WR and KR/PR), B.J. Finney (OL), Ryan Mueller (DL), Randall Evans (DB).

Second Team All-Big 12: Jake Waters (QB), Curry Sexton (WR), Cody Whitehair (OL), Jonathan Truman (LB), Dante Barnett (DB), Danzel McDaniel (DB).

Honorable Mention All-Big 12: Travis Britz (DL), Elijah Lee (Defensive Freshman of the Year), Tyler Lockett (Offensive Player of the Year), Matthew McCrane (PK), Ryan Mueller (Defensive Lineman of the Year), Bill Snyder (Coach of the Year), Boston Stiverson (OL).

— KSU Sports Information —

K-State Nation is heading to San Antonio for the first time in 16 years as Kansas State Athletics Director John Currie announced today that the 11th-ranked Wildcats have accepted an invitation to play No. 14 UCLA in the 2015 Valero Alamo Bowl on January 2.

The game, one of the most widely watched and attended of all bowl games, will be played inside San Antonio’s Alamodome at 5:45 p.m. CT, with a nationwide television audience watching on ESPN. For the first time in Alamo Bowl history, two Top-15 teams will square off against one another.

“Following our 13th nine-win regular season under Coach Snyder, we are excited to showcase our football program, Kansas State University and our national alumni and fan base in the Alamo Bowl, and I am pleased to accept the invitation on behalf of President Kirk Schulz, Coach Snyder and our entire institution,” said Currie. “I know our fans, including our 12,400 Texas-based alumni, are excited to turn San Antonio purple, while a week at the Alamo Bowl will be a first-class experience for our entire football program.”

The Wildcats (9-3) will be playing in their 18th bowl game in school history and 16th under Bill Snyder as the Cats are 7-8 all-time in bowls under the legendary head coach. Following 11 straight bowls from 1993-2003 under Snyder, the Cats have now gone bowling in each of the last five seasons and are coming off a win over Michigan in the 2013 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. K-State has appeared in the Alamo Bowl one other time in program history (1998).

“The selection to the Valero Alamo Bowl provides a fitting end to a very successful season for our football team,” said Schulz. “We are confident the K-State family will follow tradition and bring the purple to San Antonio. Congratulations to Coach Snyder, his staff and our hard-working student-athletes for this postseason honor.”

The Wildcats’ nine regular season victories in 2014 included home wins over Texas, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech and road wins at No. 11 Oklahoma and West Virginia. K-State also kept the Governor’s Cup trophy in Manhattan for the sixth straight season under Snyder with a 51-13 win over in-state rival Kansas.

In addition to a school-record and Big 12-leading 29 selections to the Academic All-Big 12 team and national academic accolades by Tyler Lockett (NFF National Scholar Athlete) and Curry Sexton (Academic All-American), excitement in Wildcat football was also evidenced by seven sellout crowds at Bill Snyder Family Stadium this season which ran K-State’s consecutive sellout streak to 20 games.

“We are proud of the young men in our program and very pleased to represent the Big 12 Conference in the Valero Alamo Bowl,” said Snyder. “Our team still has a chance to accomplish something special this season and finish the year with 10 victories. The Alamo Bowl is a first-class bowl organization and we appreciate Derrick Fox and the entire bowl staff for their efforts and support of college football.”

The Bruins (9-3) finished the season ranked 14th and with a 6-3 record in conference play.

K-State has faced UCLA two times heading into this bowl matchup. The Wildcats are 1-1 against the Bruins with UCLA winning a 2009 matchup in Pasadena, while K-State answered with a win in Manhattan the following season.

— KSU Sports Information —

WACO, Texas — No. 6 Baylor did what it had to do to keep alive its chance for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Bryce Petty and company grabbed a share of a second consecutive Big 12 title.

Up next for the Bears is wait and see.

Petty threw for 412 yards, Johnny Jefferson had two touchdown runs and Baylor beat No. 9 Kansas State 38-27 on Saturday night.

Baylor (11-1, 8-1, No. 5 AP) and TCU (11-1, 8-1, No. 3 CFP) tied for the top spot in the Big 12. The Horned Frogs were ranked higher in the most recent committee poll, but they lost to the Bears 61-58 on Oct. 11.

“There’s one true champion and it’s the Baylor Bears,” coach Art Briles screamed to the celebratory crowd after the victory over the Wildcats.

The Bears became the only team with consecutive Big 12 titles other than Oklahoma from 2006-08. They are a sure thing for one of the top six New Year’s bowls, but the new four-team playoff appears to be a long shot.

“We’re going to play in January regardless,” Petty said. “Obviously we want to be contending for a national championship.”

TCU has won seven in a row since its loss at Baylor. The Frogs, who beat Kansas State (9-3, 7-2) by 21 points last month, earned their share of the Big 12 title with a 55-3 win over Iowa State on Saturday.

Petty completed 34 of 40 passes with a touchdown and an interception a week after getting knocked out of the Bears’ last game with a concussion.

Not medically cleared to play until Friday, Petty showed no ill effects of the concussion. He put his head down and plunged in for a 1-yard TD run only 1:35 in, capping an opening 81-yard drive that put Baylor ahead to stay.

While Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby presented Baylor its championship trophy — after giving one to TCU about 90 miles away more than seven hours earlier — Florida State was wrapping up its win in the ACC championship game. A few minutes after that, Ohio State wrapped up the Big 12 title. Those are the two teams between TCU and Baylor in the playoff rankings.

Baylor fans booed the commissioner, voicing their displeasure of having to share a title even with the head-to-head victory in a league whose slogan is “One True Champion.”

The Big 12 is the only of the Power 5 conferences without a championship game, but the 10-team league has a round-robin schedule and is the only one in which everybody plays each other during the regular season.

For the fourth year in a row since the Big 12 went to 10 teams, the title wasn’t decided until finishing the regular season on the first weekend in December when other leagues play championship games.

And for the second year in a row, the Bears won at home in a finale, this time in their new campus stadium on the banks of the Brazos River after beating Texas 30-7 last year at Floyd Casey Stadium to earn a spot in the Fiesta Bowl.

Jake Waters was 22-of-27 for 300 yards and two touchdowns for Kansas State, which was trying for its second Big 12 title in three years. Tyler Lockett, already the Wildcats career leader for receptions and yards, had 14 catches for 158 yards with an 8-yard TD that was the 27th of his career — breaking a tie with his father, Kevin, for the most in school history.

The Wildcats had to share their 2012 championship because of a miserable night their last visit to Waco two years ago. They were 10-0 and ranked No. 1 in the BCS standings before a 52-24 loss.

Antwan Goodley had nine catches for 116 yards as Baylor won its 16th consecutive home game, matching Alabama for the longest current streak. The Bears are 6-0 in their new stadium even after scoring few than 45 points there for the first time.

— Associated Press —

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee played good enough defense at the start of Saturday’s game to withstand Kansas State’s frantic finish.

Josh Richardson scored 17 points Saturday as Tennessee withstood a late 3-point onslaught from Marcus Foster in a 65-64 victory over Kansas State.

Tennessee (3-3) had a 10-point lead before Kansas State made five 3-pointers in the last 1 minute, 35 seconds. Foster sank four 3-pointers in the final 57 seconds and finished with 23 points. After Foster’s final 3-pointer made it a one-point game with two-tenths of a second left, Tennessee made a successful inbounds pass to clinch the victory.

“(It was) scary,” Richardson said. “I was screaming, `Everybody, know where Foster’s at,’ but I guess we just didn’t.”

Foster went 7 of 14 from 3-point range. Jevon Thomas had 13 points and Nino Williams added 10 for Kansas State (4-4).

“If we have a few extra seconds, we probably could win that game,” Foster said. “But it started in the first half really. That’s where we should have gotten it done.”

Tennessee’s matchup zone held Kansas State without a basket for a stretch of nearly 11 1/2 minutes during the first half and forced 22 turnovers. The Volunteers also had nine blocks — five from Armani Moore — and produced 12 steals.

“I felt their zone was something I’d never seen before,” Foster said. “It was a really good zone. It felt like it spaced us out. It felt like I was shooting 30-footers out there. … It was a very good zone. In the second half, we figured out how to attack it.”

Kansas State had 13 turnovers with just five baskets and one assist in the first half. Tennessee’s dominant defensive performance gave the Vols a 25-17 advantage at the intermission, their first halftime lead of the season.

The Wildcats clawed back into the game by heating up from 3-point range. After missing all seven of its first-half attempts from beyond the arc, Kansas State went 8 of 14 on 3-pointers in the second half

“We’re still trying to figure out how to win,” Tennessee coach Donnie Tyndall said. “We get the lead and you could almost tell we start playing not to win. There’s a difference. There’s a distinct difference.”

Tennessee was playing without sophomore forward Dominic Woodson. Tennessee issued a statement before the game saying that Woodson had been excused from team-related activities this week to take care of academic obligations. Tyndall said after the game that “we’ll have more of an update on him as we get into final exams.”

TIP-INS

Kansas State: Wildcats athletic director John Currie spent 13 years at Tennessee before Kansas State hired him in May 2009. Currie earned his master’s degree from Tennessee in 2003.

Tennessee: Tyndall used his fifth different starting lineup in six games. Freshman forward Tariq Owens, who hadn’t played at all in two of Tennessee’s last three games, made his first career start Saturday. He had no points, one rebound, one assist, one block and one steal in 11 minutes.

UP NEXT

Kansas State: Hosts Bradley on Tuesday.

Tennessee: Hosts Butler on Dec. 14.

STAT LINE

Kansas State’s 22 turnovers were the most Tennessee had forced since producing 34 in a 99-78 victory over North Carolina A&T on Dec. 23, 2009.

CHALLENGE FINALE

This represented the first meeting between these two programs and the final game of this year’s SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The Big 12 won six of its 10 meetings with the Southeastern Conference this week.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kansas (AP) — Kansas State scored its fewest points in Bruce Weber’s three-year tenure to close the Maui Invitational, so he wasn’t particularly excited to see Nebraska-Omaha, who knocked off Marquette on the road, in the Wildcats’ first game since the tournament.

However, a near-career high performance from Nino Williams and a season-high 23 assists aided Kansas State (4-3) in its first home game in two weeks.

Williams had 19 points and Marcus Foster added 16 points as Kansas State beat Nebraska-Omaha 84-66 in the first-ever meeting between the two schools on Tuesday night.

It is already the fourth 80-point game for the Wildcats. They only surpassed the mark twice during the 2013-14 season.

C.J. Carter had 22 points to pace the Mavericks, who were held to their lowest score of the season.

Nebraska-Omaha (3-3) overcame two nine-point leads just after halftime, but 10 points from Foster in the first eight minutes of the second half never allowed the Mavericks to close within six points through the remainder of the game.

A 3-point play from Marcus Tyus closed Kansas State’s lead to 56-48 with 11:19 left, but Williams scored nine of Kansas State’s next 13 points to open a 69-50 lead.

“We were pretty good defensively,” Weber said of the stretch. “We turned them over, got some easy baskets off of it and were in the right spots. That first 10-12 minutes of the second half, we were pretty solid and we extended (the lead) to six to 10 and to 15 and kept it going.”

The Wildcats won the rebounding battle 43-25, which led to 38 points in the paint and substantial foul trouble for the Mavericks.

Forward Jake White was out for Nebraska-Omaha and his replacement Tre’Shawn Thurman and starter Mike Rostampour both picked up two early fouls.

“Like I told our team, `There are some things you can control and some things you can’t,” Nebraska-Omaha coach Derrin Hansen said. “One of those things we can’t control is that they can bring bigger bodies than anyone we’ve played. Whether that be Marquette, Nebraska or whoever, that hurt us tonight.”

It didn’t start well for the Wildcats, as they didn’t lead until a Jevon Thomas 3-pointer with 7:32 left in the first half.

Nebraska-Omaha opened up a 16-10 lead with 11:29 left in the first half, shooting nearly 50 percent during the stretch.

However, the Mavericks’ largest lead opened up the floodgates for Kansas State.

After struggling through his first six games, Justin Edwards followed a Foster basket with a spinning layup through traffic that aided a 12-3 first-half scoring run. He also knocked in his second 3-pointer of the season.

“We didn’t play to our potential like we should have,” Carter said of letting their foot off the gas pedal. “The first we did, but they’re a great team. For a six-minute stretch, like coach said, we just fell apart.”

The Mavericks trailed 37-31 at halftime, but Carter’s 14 first-half points kept them in range after making only four shots in the final six minutes.

Williams led the Wildcats with eight points in the first half, including the first five points of the game.

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TIP-INS

Nebraska-Omaha, who was picked sixth in conference preseason polls, leads the Summit League in points per game, field goals made per game, 3-point percentage and total rebounds.

Kansas State is now 36-0 in December home games, dating back to a 76-66 loss to Rutgers Dec. 28, 2004.

STAT LINE

Jevon Thomas reached double figures for the first time in his Kansas State tenure, scoring a career-high 12 points. The performance surpassed a nine-point outing at Kansas on Jan. 11.

UP NEXT

Kansas State will go to Tennessee on Saturday.

Nebraska-Omaha will play at Air Force next Monday.

— Associated Press —