Jordan Henriquez and Angel Rodriguez checked into the game when Kansas State was scuffling, the ball clanking off the rim every time it went up and Alabama (No. 21 ESPN/USA Today, No. 23 AP) slowly pulling away.

The duo provided the spark the Wildcats needed.

Henriquez scored a career-high 17 points, Rodriguez added a career-best 13 and Kansas State rallied from a slow start to beat the Crimson Tide 71-58 on Saturday night.

“We talked about attacking their zone. We didn’t do a very good job early in the game,” Kansas State coach Frank Martin said. “We just had to make some shots. We moved the ball better, got that zone real spread out. Angel drove it and Jordan did what we talked about, the back side coming open.”

It wasn’t just the scoring, though, but how they did it. Rodriquez, the freshman guard, kept finding his 7-foot center inside for easy baskets, racking up six of his seven assists by halftime.

“It was just me being comfortable,” Henriquez said. “I was kind of in a rush and that’s what Coach gets on me a lot, taking my time and letting the game come to me.”

Jamar Samuels added 14 points for the Wildcats (7-1), who used a 19-6 run midway through the second half to avoid going to overtime for the third consecutive game. Kansas State lost to West Virginia in two extra sessions last week and needed overtime to beat North Florida last Sunday.

“Kansas State came out tonight and in the second half did a really great job of attacking our pressure,” Alabama coach Anthony Grant said. “They got out in transition, they got in rhythm in the second half. They got a spurt that took it out to about 10, and we had a tough time maintaining the discipline you have to have from a defensive standpoint.”

JaMychal Green scored 20 points for Alabama (8-3), which has lost three of four.

Trevor Releford, who grew up in suburban Kansas City and attended Bishop Miege High School, added 14 points for the Crimson Tide in a homecoming that would have been much more memorable had they been as stingy over the final 30 minutes as they were over the first 10.

The Wildcats started 2 of 18 from the field, struggling against Alabama’s tenacious, trapping half-court defense. They only trailed by seven, though, when they finally figured out how to get open shots along the baseline, and that opened up holes elsewhere.

“I know it looks like we just walk out there and roll the ball out sometimes,” Martin said, “but there is actually some serious structure to what we do. And they were in tune with it.”

Kansas State was still clinging to a 38-37 lead with just more than 13 minutes left when Samuels hit a 3-pointer off a feed from Rodriguez, one of his career-best seven assists. Shane Southwell scored moments later, Samuels added a pair of free throws and Rodriguez scored after a nifty behind-the-back move that got him open in the lane to make it 49-39 with less than 10 minutes to play.

The lead swelled to 61-45 when Henriquez scored back-to-back baskets and Thomas Gipson added a tough bucket in the paint. The Crimson Tide never got close the rest of the way.

Kansas State sealed the game with free throws down the stretch.

“We got some opportunities to put some shots up,” Releford said. “A lot of them went down, some of them didn’t.”

The game matched a pair of head coaches in Grant and Martin who were teammates at Miami (Fla.) Senior High School, where they met as sophomores. In fact, Grant is the godfather of Martin’s eldest child, Brandon, and they remain good friends.

That doesn’t mean they wanted to win any less than usual.

Both coaches spent the majority of the game riding the officials, riding their own players — more or less yelling at anyone within earshot — and coaching with the passion of March in mid-December.

Alabama, one of the nation’s best defensive teams, held the Wildcats to two field goals over the first 10 minutes, slowly building a meager lead. Tony Mitchell’s first basket with 9:08 left in the half made it 15-8, the Crimson Tide’s biggest lead of the game.

The Wildcats still trailed 17-12 with less than 5 minutes left when Martavious Irving scored and Rodriguez fed Henriquez for an easy dunk, starting a 14-7 run to end the half. Henriquez’s bucket with 18 seconds remaining allowed Kansas State to take a 26-24 lead into the break.

The game was being played at a pace that favored Grant’s Crimson Tide, who came in allowing an average of just more than 55 points per game — 11th-best in the nation. But the Wildcats heated up in the second half, blowing past that number with 7½ minutes left.

“We might not be perfect,” Martin said, “but we’re not taking a backseat to anybody either.”

— Associated Press —

Kevin Jones hit a tying 3-pointer in regulation and scored 30 points to lead West Virginia to an 85-80, double-overtime victory Thursday night over Kansas State, its future Big 12 foe.

Darryl Bryant had 25 points for West Virginia (5-2) and Deniz Kilicli added 12 points. Rodney McGruder scored 20 points for Kansas State (5-1). Will Spradling had 16 points and Thomas Gipson scored 15.

The game between future Big 12 rivals on a neutral court — heavily favoring Kansas State — in Wichita brought together West Virginia coach Bob Huggins and his former assistant Frank Martin. Martin took over at K-State when Huggins left for the Mountaineers job in 2007.

The matchup was originally part of a two-game series but West Virginia is set to join the Big 12, perhaps as soon as next year.

Each team scored on its first three possessions of the second overtime, and it was tied into the final minute. Jones gave the Mountaineers an 82-80 lead with 26.6 seconds left with a baby hook.

McGruder tried to answer with a jumper on the other end that rimmed out. Trailing by three 8 seconds later, McGruder missed a 3-point attempt.

West Virginia’s Aaron Brown made a 3-pointer with 50.9 seconds remaining in the first overtime to break a tie. But K-State rallied, and McGruder made a floater with 6.2 seconds on the clock to tie it at 74.

Guarded tightly, Bryant missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, forcing a second overtime.

Spradling scored five straight points to open the second half as Kansas State turned a one-point lead at the break into a 41-34 advantage with 17:22 remaining.

But the Mountaineers looked inside to keep it close. Bruising forward Kilicli scored eight points in four minutes and Darryl Bryants two free throws pulled West Virginia to 48-46 with 12:48 to go.

The Mountaineers took their first lead of the second half with 4:19 remaining, when Jones converted a three-point play from the post.

That lead didn’t last long as McGruder sank a long jumper and Angel Rodriguez converted a turnover into a layup during a 25-second span, putting the Wildcats ahead 61-57.

After two Bryant free throws, Jones posted up for another easy basket, and the Mountaineers led 61-60 with 2:22 to play.

A free throw each by Jordan Henriquez and Rodriguez gave the Wildcats a 62-61 lead with 1:05 remaining. The Mountaineers turned the ball over and Gipson putback a rebound for a 64-61 lead with 22 seconds to play.

But Jones made baseline 3-pointer with 13.3 seconds remaining to tie it. K-State did not call a time-out and managed only a desperation jumper by McGruder and a tip attempt by Henriquez before the buzzer sounded to end regulation.

— Associated Press —

Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder was named the 2011 Associated Press Big 12 Coach of the Year today after leading the Wildcats to a 10-2 record in the regular season and a No. 8 ranking in the final regular season BCS standings.

Snyder, currently the 11th-winningest active coach among FBS schools, was selected on 16 of the 17 ballots turned in by media members who regularly cover the league. The Wildcats, which headed into the 2011 season with nine first-year starters, were picked to finish eighth in the Big 12 preseason race and have won a nation-leading eight games this season by seven points or less and 10 games in a season for the first time since 2003.

“I am extremely proud of our coaches and the young men in our program for working and preparing each day to get better,” said Snyder. “The success we have had to this point in the season has been a direct result of that, and I appreciate very much their willingness to work and achieve the goals that we set out each day to accomplish.”

The 2011 Woody Hayes National Coach of the Year honoree, and finalist for the Liberty Mutual and Eddie Robinson national coach of the year awards, Snyder was named the 32nd head football coach at Kansas State on Nov. 30, 1988, and again as the 34th on Nov. 24 2008. He has amassed a 159-82-1 (.659) record during his 20-year tenure with the Wildcats, including an 89-64-1 (.581) mark in Big 8/12 games, and currently ranks fourth among active coaches with 150 or more wins at FBS schools since 1990.

A two-time national coach of the year selection and three-time Big 12 coach of the year pick, Snyder’s 159 victories are more than triple the man in second place on K-State’s all-time coaching victories list, while the legendary head coach has led the program to 13 bowl games, which included 11 straight from 1993-2003 and back-to-back appearances in 2010 and 2011.

No. 8 Kansas State faces No. 6 Arkansas in the 2012 AT&T Cotton Bowl on January 6 as the two teams will square off in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

— KSU Sports Information —

Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder was named the recipient of the 2011 Woody Hayes Award, which is presented to the College Football Coach of the Year by the Touchdown Club of Columbus.

Additionally, Snyder was named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, given to the Coach of the Year by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). Snyder joined Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State), Brady Hoke (Michigan), Les Miles (LSU) and Dabo Sweeney (Clemson) as finalists for the award.

The Touchdown Club of Columbus unanimously selected Snyder for the Woody Hayes Awards based upon the Wildcats 10-2 season and No. 8 ranking in the final BCS ranking, in addition to his integrity to the game and student-athletes.

This season marks the fourth time that Snyder has been named a finalist for the FWAA top coaching honor. This year’s winner will be announced Dec. 15 after balloting by the entire FWAA membership. The FWAA and the Fiesta Bowl will host a special reception on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012, in New Orleans to honor the winner and present him with the trophy, a bust of Eddie Robinson.

Snyder, currently the 11th-winningest active coach among FBS schools, led Kansas State a second-place Big 12 finish after being picked to eighth in the Big 12 preseason race. The Wildcats, which headed into the 2011 season with nine first-year starters, have won a nation-leading eight games this season by seven points or less and 10 games in a season for the first time since 2003.

Named the 32nd head football coach at Kansas State on Nov. 30, 1988, and again as the 34th on Nov. 24, 2008, Snyder has amassed a 159-82-1 (.659) record during his 20-year tenure with the Wildcats, including an 89-64-1 (.581) mark in Big 8/12 games, and currently ranks fourth among active coaches with 150 or more wins at FBS schools since 1990.

A two-time national coach of the year selection, Snyder’s 159 victories are more than triple the man in second place on K-State’s all-time coaching victories list, while the legendary head coach has led the program to 13 bowl games, which included 11 straight from 1993-2003 and back-to-back appearances in 2010 and 2011.

— KSU Sports Information —

Kansas State junior place kicker Anthony Cantele was named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday. It was Cantele’s third weekly honor this season and the fourth of his career.

The honor by Cantele was also the ninth by the Wildcats this year, tying the school record originally set by the 1999 squad.

Cantele nailed all three of his field goal attempts in No. 11 Kansas State’s 30-23 win over Iowa State, marking the third time this season he has made three field goals in a game. The junior connected on a 37-yarder in the second quarter, a 47-yard attempt in the third quarter and a 19-yarder in the fourth quarter.

For the season, Cantele is 17-of-22 on field goals and is 10-of-14 in the 30-49-yard range. He is tied for fifth in school history for field goals made in a season and fifth for field goals attempted in a season.

Kansas State finished the regular season with a 10-2 record, including a 7-2 Big 12 mark to finish second in the conference and eighth in the final BCS standings.

The Wildcats were rewarded for their successful season by accepting an invitational to play in the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic on Jan. 6, 2012, against No. 6 Arkansas. The game, which will be played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, will be televised nationally by FOX beginning at 7 p.m. (CT).

— KSU Sports Information —

Bill Snyder wouldn’t bite when he was asked to compare this season’s Kansas State team to those of years past, Wildcats that won Big 12 championships and went to prestigious bowl games.

“I reserve the right to make those judgments until the end of the season,” the longtime coach said, “and then I’ll find a way to avoid the question.”

It’s going to be an inevitable one.

John Hubert ran for 120 yards and the go-ahead touchdown Saturday, helping the Wildcats (No. 11 BCS, No. 16 AP) beat Iowa State 30-23 and keeping alive their chances for a share of the conference title.

Picked to finish eighth in the Big 12, Kansas State (10-2, 7-2) instead put together one of the best seasons in school history. Led by the 72-year-old Snyder, the plucky Wildcats managed to beat everyone they faced except for Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, the two teams who were to decide Saturday night whether they would share in a conference championship.

If the Sooners beat their rivals in Bedlam, there would be a three-way tie.

“It’s been a journey,” said Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein, who ran for a touchdown and threw for another against the Cyclones. “We’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but over the course we’ve been able to make improvements so we’re a better team.”

Jeff Woody ran for 85 yards and two touchdowns for the Cyclones (6-6, 3-6), who became bowl eligible for the second time under Paul Rhoads when they knocked off the Cowboys a couple weeks ago.

They nearly managed another upset against the Wildcats.

Hubert scored the go-ahead touchdown on a tackle-breaking 26-yard run with 3:29 left, which gave Iowa State plenty of time to answer. Freshman quarterback Jared Barnett converted a pair of third downs to move into Kansas State territory, and then scrambled for eight yards on third-and-10.

Facing fourth-and-2 at the 31, Woody took the handoff and was stuffed at the line of scrimmage, the ball popping out. Kansas State recovered it to seal the victory.

“This is the No. 11 team in the BCS,” Rhoads said, “and with 1:07 to go, we’re driving down to tie the game and send it into overtime.”

Both teams now await their bowl destinations.

The Wildcats could be headed anywhere from one of the BCS games as an at-large selection to the Alamo or Cotton bowls, though Snyder said he won’t be campaigning before announcements are made Sunday night. The Cyclones, meanwhile, will be headed to a game for the second time in three years.

“K-State was only favored in four games and they won 10,” Woody said. “We were favored in two and we won six, so we’re two tremendously similar teams, and that showed.”

After lightning delayed the kickoff 90 minutes, the Cyclones jumped out to a 7-0 lead. Barnett threw a pass that wobbled so much it looked as if the ball was deflating, but Darius Darks managed to get the inside position on cornerback Nigel Malone and hauled in the 30-yard catch.

The Wildcats needed 15 seconds to answer.

Klein dropped back and floated a pass on a deep post route to Tramaine Thompson, one of the fastest players on the team. He caught it with his fingertips just past the outstretched hands of defensive back Ter’Ran Benton and raced the rest of the way untouched for the 68-yard touchdown, the longest play from scrimmage for Kansas State this season.

“We had a play called and Collin saw coverage he liked,” Thompson said. “So we switched it around. I was hoping he saw it. When he checked to it, I was so happy.”

Iowa State regained the lead moments later when Woody plunged in from a yard out, but Zach Guyer’s extra point was blocked by Raphael Guidry, his fourth blocked kick of the season.

Anthony Cantele kicked a 37-yard field goal for the Wildcats to get within 13-10.

Kansas State took over at its own 38 just before halftime, and Klein mixed in a couple of option keepers along with a pair of 14-yard completions to Hubert. The sophomore running back took the second of them down to the goal line, and Klein’s TD sneak gave Kansas State a 17-13 lead at the break.

Guidry’s second big play, this time an interception off a tipped ball, gave Kansas State prime field position early in the third quarter, and Cantele’s 47-yard field goal made it 20-13.

Iowa State responded by going 64 yards in 12 plays, converting three third downs, and Woody’s rumbling 13-yard scamper allowed the Cyclones to draw even with 4:25 left in the quarter.

Kansas State squandered a chance to take a touchdown lead, failing to score in three tries from the 3 before Cantele knocked through his third field goal of the game. The Cyclones matched it when they converted a pair of fourth downs and Guyer made a 43-yarder with 6:12 left.

The Cyclones finally ran out of answers, though, and they still haven’t beaten the Wildcats in Manhattan since 2004 — the last time they had a winning season.

“Everybody is hurting. This was definitely a struggle,” Barnett said. “We were just executing. I don’t think K-State was expecting us to come out that way, and we just kind of took advantage of it, but then they definitely started catching on and made some adjustments.”

— Associated Press —