AMES, Iowa (AP) — Three straight losses and the distraction caused by the ongoing Bubu Palo saga left No. 16 Iowa State in desperate need of some good news.

A close win over a ranked opponent was a good place for the Cyclones to start.

Melvin Ejim scored 20 points and Iowa State beat No. 22 Kansas State 81-75 on Saturday to snap a three-game losing streak and get back to .500 in the Big 12.

”I wanted to see how our guys responded, and we had as good a week of practice as we’ve had all year,” Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said. ”Guys put those losses behind us. They wanted to come out and win in the worst way.”

Georges Niang had 18 points and freshman Matt Thomas matched a career high with 14 for the Cyclones (15-3, 3-3 Big 12), who blew a 12-point halftime lead before putting the game away late in the second half.

Ejim blocked a potential game-tying 3 from Shane Southwell and hit two free throws to put the Cyclones ahead 79-73 with 23 seconds left.

Freshman Marcus Foster scored 20 points for Kansas State (14-6, 4-3), which lost consecutive games for the first time since November.

Thomas Gipson had just four points for the Wildcats.

”We had our opportunities. Again, we battled. They’re a good team. We knew it would be tough to win here after they had lost three in a row,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said.

Kansas State spent much of the afternoon allowing Iowa State to make a run and then matching it.

In the end, the Wildcats were just a couple of plays short.

Kansas State needed less than 7 minutes to erase a 46-34 first-half deficit, but Iowa State’s inconsistent defense let it down. The Cyclones allowed nine points in 2 minutes, and Will Spradling’s 3 tied it at 66-all with 5 minutes left.

Niang answered with a crucial 3, and Cyclones star DeAndre Kane shook off a sluggish game with a three-point play to put Iowa State ahead 72-66.

Kane finished with 10 points – his lowest total since mid-December – after shooting 3 of 12 for the second straight game.

”I think he’s rushing it a little bit,” Hoiberg said of Kane. ”He’s a great finisher and he’s been showing that all year. But he’s struggling with that a little bit right now.”

This was the first time in the 216 meetings between Iowa State and Kansas State that both were ranked in the AP Top 25.

But the Cyclones and Wildcats entered play looking to regain some lost momentum.

Iowa State had opened the season at 14-0, the best start in school history. But losses to Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas had considerably cooled the program’s national buzz and sent it tumbling eight spots in this week’s poll.

Then last week, a district court judge ruled that Palo, a reserve guard who averaged 2.8 points a game last season, be reinstated in a move that angered the administration and dominated local headlines.

Palo had been kicked off the team in August in connection with sexual assault charges that were eventually dropped. The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday denied a request by the Iowa Board of Regents for an immediate stay of that ruling.

Palo spent the game on the bench and in uniform, but Hoiberg refused to comment on Palo after the game.

Kansas State was coming off a buzzer-beating loss at Texas, as Jonathan Holmes hit a 3 as time expired for a 67-64 Longhorns’ win on Tuesday.

The Wildcats started out hot from the perimeter, hitting four of their first five 3-point attempts. Iowa State was even better, as the once-struggling Thomas connected on his first four 3s to help give Iowa State its 12-point halftime edge.

”We were getting loose balls. We were getting after them on the defensive end and playing with energy. I think when we do that we’re a tough team to beat,” Niang said.

Southwell had 14 points and Spradling added 12 for Kansas State, which hosts Texas Tech and travels to West Virginia next week.

”It’s a gut check week for our guys coming up,” Weber said. ”I told them before the game. ‘We’re a good team. Do you want to be a really good team? That’s the question.”’

— Associated Press —

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Jonathan Holmes delivered the shot. Cameron Ridley provided the muscle.

Texas won again, this time 67-64 over No. 22 Kansas State and the Longhorns keep climbing upward in the Big 12.

Holmes made a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer from the corner at the buzzer Tuesday night, sending Texas to its fourth straight league victory and second in a row over a ranked team.

”I just caught it and shot it,” Holmes said, adding he had no time to think before putting the ball in the air.

The Longhorns (15-4, 4-2) are giving the Big 12 plenty to think about. A team that started with no expectations after a losing season in 2012-13, the program’s first in 15 years, is now feeling like it can chase the league heavyweights over a long season.

And maybe even challenge for the title.

”That’s what we’re playing for,” Holmes said.

Ridley scored 18 points in a game-long tug-of-war under the basket with Kansas State’s Thomas Gipson, who scored 24 points.

Javan Felix had 23 points for the Longhorns, including two big baskets late that helped prevent the Wildcats from taking the lead.

Holmes finished with 10 points, eight in the second half.

Texas had almost blown its chance for the game-winner when the Longhorns nearly botched an inbounds pass with 3 seconds left. But after a quick timeout, Isaiah Taylor zipped the ball to the Holmes in the corner and he put up the shot over two defenders. The ball swished through the basket at the buzzer and Holmes was mobbed by his teammates.

If Texas had run the play correctly the first time, Holmes was open for an easy layup. The longer, harder shot delivered the same result with a little more drama. The Longhorns were coming off a win over then-No. 8 Iowa State.

Kansas State (14-5, 4-2) had tied the game at 64 on Shane Southwell’s twisting, off-balance layup with 5 seconds to play after Felix had missed two free throws that likely would have put the game out of reach.

”(Holmes) could have easily (scored),” the first time, Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. ”That’s a big shot. They’re close to being a Top 25 team, too. It’s going to be like this all year in the league.”

The game was tight the entire way as Ridley and Gipson battled under the basket and neither team let the other build any kind of offensive momentum. The biggest lead was six points. The teams were tied or traded leads 12 times in the final 9 minutes.

”We let them get us in a grinder a little bit,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said.

The Longhorns had a chance to push the lead to eight late in the first half before Ridley was whistled for an offensive foul. Gipson kept the Wildcats within four with a layup as time expired.

Ridley picked up a second foul early in the second half and went to the bench for nearly 4 minutes. Gipson converted the three-point play and the Wildcats cut the lead to 40-39 when Gipson scored again. Ridley returned and quickly made a midrange jumper on his first touch, then denied Gipson a shot on the other end.

”I shot every shot with confidence. They kept trusting me to throw it back to me,” Ridley said.

Kansas State grabbed the lead at 52-49 when Southwell made two free throws and Wesley Iwundu made a fastbreak layup. Felix briefly restored Texas’ lead with a baseline floater, his first points in nearly 6 minutes, before Southwell made a 3-pointer that started a flurry of back-and-forth lead changes and ties.

Felix made two free throws to put Texas ahead 61-60 with just under 2 minutes left. Holmes made one of two before Felix made another off-balance baseline shot to make it 64-60.

Southwell’s layup tied it before Texas got two chances to find the game-winner from Holmes.

”You go on the road you and have a chance to grab a game, you have a chance to break their spirit,” Weber said. ”We didn’t do it.”

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Shane Southwell and Thomas Gipson scored 20 points apiece and Marcus Foster added 15 as Kansas State beat West Virginia 78-56 on Saturday.

Eron Harris had 21 points while Juwan Staten contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Mountaineers (10-8, 2-3 Big 12).

Kansas State’s lockdown defense continues to blossom as the Wildcats limited West Virginia to 32.7 percent shooting (16 of 49).

The Mountaineers entered averaging 79.9 points per game while shooting just under 46 percent. The 22-point loss was the largest loss of the season for the Mountaineers.

The game was West Virginia coach Bob Huggins’ second trip back to Manhattan after spending one season at the helm of the Wildcats program during the 2006-2007 season.

Kansas State (14-4, 4-1) trailed for just 2:19 of the contest and led for the final 35 minutes.

The Wildcats shot 54.9 percent, their best percentage of the season, surpassing their previous high of 52.5 percent against TCU.

After two quick 3-pointers from Harris, the Wildcats answered the lone push of West Virginia by going on a 17-5 run and opening up a 20-13 lead with 8:43 left in the first half.

The Wildcats shot 58.3 percent from the field in the first half as well as going 5 of 10 from 3-point range.

Southwell paced the Wildcats with 12 first-half points while Gipson contributed eight points.

Southwell’s performance included an assist on an alley-oop dunk for Wesley Iwundu as well as a dunk of his own, pushing the Kansas State lead to its largest first-half lead of 15 points with 1:15 left till the break.

Thanks to a quick 3-pointer from Marcus Foster, the Wildcats opened up the second half on a 15-6 run and continued to dominate the defensive end of the floor.

Outside of the production from Harris and Staten, West Virginia struggled mightily, shooting 22 percent (6 of 27) from the field.

With the win, Kansas State has now held 15 of its last 17 opponents under their scoring average. It has also held 10 opponents under 60 points.

Six points capped off Gipson’s performance in the final 3 minutes of the game, including his last with 1:25 left.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Marcus Foster scored 18 points, Nino Williams made four clinching free throws in the closing seconds and Kansas State held on to beat No. 25 Oklahoma 72-66 on Tuesday night.

Shane Southwell added 16 points for the Wildcats (13-4, 3-1 Big 12), who rallied from a 62-56 deficit with just over 5 minutes to play to turn back the streaking Sooners.

Ryan Spangler had a career-high 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Buddy Hield scored 12 points for Oklahoma (13-4, 2-2), but it wasn’t enough to offset a lousy night by Cameron Clark.

The Big 12’s leading scorer, Clark was held to two points on 1-for-9 shooting. He was stripped of the ball with 24.5 seconds left and the Sooners trailing 67-64.

The turnover forced Oklahoma to foul, and Williams made both free throws. Je’lon Hornbeak missed a 3-pointer at the other end and the Sooners fouled Williams, and again he knocked down both foul shots to help seal the game.

Wesley Iwundu added 11 points for Kansas State while Williams and Will Spradling finished with 10 points apiece.

The Sooners, the highest scoring team in the Big 12, got the up-and-down game they wanted in the first half. The only problem was that Kansas State, which tends to struggle offensively but is the league’s best on defense, was knocking down shots from all over the court.

The Wildcats hit 3-pointers on five straight trips midway through the first half. Foster had the first three, thumping his chest on his way back to the bench after the last of them.

Kansas State eventually pushed its lead to 28-19 on Iwundu’s 3-pointer before the Sooners started to find some success in the paint. Isaiah Cousins’ driving layup started an 18-5 run over the next 7 minutes, capped by Hield’s basket for a 37-33 lead.

The Wildcats answered with a 3 by Southwell, and Spradling was fouled just before the halftime buzzer and made three free throws to give Kansas State a 39-38 lead.

Oklahoma slowly took control in the second half as the Wildcats cooled off. Spangler’s three-point play with 6 1/2 minutes left gave the Sooners a 58-56 lead, and a breezy jumper by Cousins from just inside the 3-point arc extended the lead with about 5 minutes to play.

Once more, Kansas State clawed right back.

Big man Thomas Gipson stuck back a miss by Southwell for his first field goal with 2:59 left in the game to knot it 63-all. Foster then buried a 3-pointer from right in front of Kansas State coach Bruce Weber to give the Wildcats a 66-63 lead.

They managed to hold onto the lead through a tense closing stretch.

— Associated Press —

Kansas State running back John Hubert and long snapper Marcus Heit will be able to showcase their talents to NFL teams this month as they compete in various postseason all-star games.

Both players will play in the Medal of Honor Bowl on Saturday at Johnson Hagood Stadium on the campus of The Citadel in Charleston, S.C., while Heit will also compete in the Reese’s Senior Bowl, Jan. 25, at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala., a game that will be televised by NFL Network.

Hubert, a three-year starter, finished his career as the second-leading rusher in school history with 2,993 yards, which included his first 1,000-yard season in 2013. A product of Waco, Texas, Hubert also ranks second in school history in career 100-yard games (12), sixth in career touchdowns (28) and yards per carry (5.0), and seventh in career yards per game (65.1). Hubert was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention pick by the league’s coaches this season, while he was named to the preseason watch lists for the Doak Walker, Maxwell and Walter Camp Player of the Year awards.

Heit was perfect on 111 snaps during his senior season and 363 in his three-year career. The Derby, Kan., native played in 36 career games.

— KSU Sports Information —

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Thomas Gipson scored 19 points, Marcus Foster added 16 and No. 25 Kansas State ran its winning streak to 10 games with a 65-47 victory over TCU on Tuesday night.

The Wildcats (12-3, 2-0 Big 12), who made their way into the Top 25 for the first time this season on Monday, played their first true road game of the season.

Amric Fields scored 14 points and Kyan Anderson added 12 for TCU (9-5, 0-2), which trailed 31-21 at halftime.

The Horned Frogs used a 10-2 run to get within 36-33 with 13:45 to play, but Kansas State responded with a 9-3 run – keyed by a wide-open 3-pointer by Shane Southwell – and the Wildcats’ lead wouldn’t dip below seven points for the rest of the game.

Foster, the reigning Big 12 newcomer of the week, hit two 3-pointers in a one-minute span late in the second half. The Wildcats hit 7 of 15 3-pointers overall.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Thomas Gipson likened the game to a ”bar fight,” the sort of description that is certain to make the senior-level folks in the Kansas State athletic department shake their head in exasperation.

Of course, Wildcats coach Bruce Weber used the exact same term to describe a 74-71 victory over No. 6 Oklahoma State on Saturday – the kind of rough-and-tumble affair both teams were expecting as they opened Big 12 play harboring championship aspirations.

”What else can you say?” Weber said. ”They’re a potential Final Four team. I don’t think there’s any doubt. And we were able to compete with them and find a way to win.”

Marcus Foster had 17 points for the Wildcats (11-3), and Nino Williams scored 15, none bigger than the two free throws he made with 5.7 seconds left to give Kansas State a three-point lead.

The Cowboys’ Marcus Smart raced up court and threw up a running 3-point try as the final buzzer sounded, but it clanked harmlessly off the rim. By the time it fell to the court, Kansas State was well into celebrating its ninth consecutive victory.

”We felt like that was one of the toughest games we’ve played so far,” said Gipson, who added 10 points and 11 rebounds. ”For us to be young and come out and get a huge win against the No. 6 team in the nation, that feels real good.”

Le’Bryan Nash scored 20 points, Markel Brown finished with 16 and Smart added 15 for the Cowboys (12-2, 0-1), who were plagued by foul trouble after already missing two of their key players.

Michael Cobbins, their best big man, sustained a season-ending Achilles injury on Monday, and freshman guard Stevie Clark – their second-leading scorer off the bench – did not play after he was arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession on Wednesday.

”This was going to be an adjustment game,” Cowboys coach Travis Ford said. ”It’s been a tough week. We lost a major part of our team. We have to adjust.”

The Wildcats, who’ve made a habit of pummeling opponents during their win streak, tried to wear down the short-handed Cowboys in the first half. They pawed and pressed and got physical with Smart and Nash as much as possible, and both of them were clearly frustrated.

Both of them also picked up two fouls late in the first half.

Kansas State was unable to take advantage of the brief stretch in which both sat on the bench, though. Foster scored in the waning seconds of the half to put the Wildcats in front, but the Cowboys raced up court and Brown managed to curl in a layup at the buzzer for a 38-37 lead.

The senior dished a bit of attitude at the Kansas State student section as he left the floor.

Oklahoma State tried to extend the lead early in the second half, and Smart’s dunk and foul with about 13 1/2 minutes left provided a cushion. But Smart decided to do a chin-up on the rim and slap the backboard after his slam, and he was hit with a technical – his fourth foul of the game.

While he took a seat, the Wildcats started to gather momentum.

Shane Southwell hit a 3 from in front of his own bench to knot the game 52-all with just over 9 minutes left, his first points of the game. A few minutes later, Nash picked up his fourth foul, and Cowboys coach Travis Ford put Smart back in the game.

”It’s always hard to sit for that long and come in and try to get into a rhythm,” Smart said.

The Wildcats went right at him, and Smart wisely backed down on a couple of occasions to avoid picking up his fifth foul. That allowed the Wildcats to surge ahead, taking a 65-60 lead when Foster slashed through the lane and curled in a layup with 3 1/2 minutes remaining.

That matched the biggest lead of the game, and the gritty Wildcats managed to hit just enough free throws – and make just enough stops – to hold on at the end.

”They just outplayed us,” Nash said. ”They played hard every time. They don’t care what the situation is, they just play. That’s what we need to do. We played tentative and we need to play hard every game. That’s what I’m going to do from now on. Play 100 percent and give 100 percent to this team because that’s what they need.”

— Associated Press —

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Jake Waters threw for 271 yards and connected with Tyler Lockett on three touchdowns, leading Kansas State to its first bowl victory in 11 years, 31-14 over Michigan in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl on Saturday night.

Kansas State (8-5) scored on its first three possessions, all touchdown passes from Waters to Lockett, and its defense dominated Michigan to end a five-game bowl losing streak.

Lockett set a school record with 10 catches for 116 yards and Waters completed 21 of 27 passes, sending the Wildcats to their first bowl victory since the 2002 Holiday Bowl.

Freshman Shane Morris was steady in place of injured starter Devin Gardner, leading Michigan (7-6) on two early scoring drives. The Wolverines settled for field goals on both and did little the rest of the way, finishing with 261 total yards.

Morris threw for 196 yards on 24-of-38 passing with an interception before leading Michigan on a late scoring drive with the game out of reach.

Michigan’s defense also had trouble stopping Kansas State most of the night, giving up 420 total yards

Kansas State finished the season strong after some early difficulties – starting with a home loss to FCS North Dakota State – winning five of its final six games while scoring at least 31 points in each.

Michigan limped to the finish after a 5-0 start, losing five of its final seven games and Gardner along the way. The senior injured his toe in the regular-season finale against Ohio State and didn’t recover in time for the bowl game, leaving the Wolverines in the hands of Morris.

The freshman hasn’t played much over the past year, limited to four games as a high school senior due to mononucleosis and to nine pass attempts as Gardner’s backup this season.

Morris didn’t seem to mind being thrust into the spotlight as the first Michigan quarterback to make his first career start in a bowl game. He was helped by a conservative game plan filled with short throws early and started unleashing his big left arm by Michigan’s second drive, completing 15 of 19 passes for 121 yards in the first half.

The problem for the Wolverines was they couldn’t finish off drives, settling for field goals of 22 and 26 yards by Matt Wile.

That was good for Wile, who made one field goal all season, but not for Michigan since its defense couldn’t seem to stop the Wildcats – particularly the Waters-to-Lockett combination.

Kansas State set the tone on its opening drive, grinding out 75 yards in 15 plays and 7:51 off the clock. Lockett capped it with a 6-yard touchdown catch after the Wildcats’ line gave Waters just enough time to get the throw off against Michigan’s blitz.

Lockett set up the next drive with a 40-yard kickoff return and capped with a 29-yard touchdown catch, set up by Waters’ pump fake that gave him separation behind Michigan’s defense.

Kansas State raced down the field again on its next drive, setting up Lockett’s third touchdown, an 8-yarder from Waters that put the Wildcats up 21-6 at halftime.

The Wildcats bogged down in the second half, but so did the Wolverines.

Michigan had 23 total yards in the third quarter and failed to capitalize on the game’s first turnover – a fumble by Daniel Sams – by going three-and-out.

Kansas State’s Ian Anderson hit a 22-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, John Hubert scored on a 1-yard run after Morris’ interception and the Wildcats celebrated Bill Snyder’s seventh bowl victory by chasing the 74-year-old coach down the sideline for a water-bucket dump.

— Associated Press —