MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Skylar Thompson wanted to hit Isaiah Zuber on the final play of the game, only the Kansas State wide receiver was so tightly covered that the young quarterback had to scramble to his left.

Then, he turned around and scrambled to his right.

Thompson was just about ready to put his head down and dive for the goal line when Zuber, the guy he wanted all along, popped open in the end zone. And with a deft flick of his wrist, Thompson’s pass found its target and gave the Wildcats a stunning 20-19 victory over Iowa State on Saturday night.

“I don’t remember much. It happened so quick,” said Thompson, who threw for 152 yards, none of them bigger than the one yard he needed at the end. “I just wasn’t afraid of the moment.”

Even as a freshman, Thompson has already proven that much. He rallied the Wildcats (7-5, 5-4 Big 12) past Texas Tech, led them to an upset of Oklahoma State, then showed his immense potential in engineering a 10-play, 87-yard drive that took every second of the 1 minute, 55 seconds left in the game.

“He’s a very poised young man,” Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said. “He has a confidence level that I think is appropriate for the position he plays. He expects it to happen and I like guys like that.”

Kyle Kempt threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns for Iowa State (7-5, 5-4), who blew a 19-7 fourth-quarter lead to lose its 10th straight to the Wildcats. The Cyclones had a chance to put things away, but Kempt misfired on third-and-6 at the Kansas State 49 in the final minutes.

“I was really proud of the effort of our kids,” Cyclones coach Matt Campbell said, “but in reality it comes down to a little bit of detail and unfortunately when we had our opportunity to put the game away in some instances we didn’t do it. Credit to their kids for preventing that.”

The game lived up to its “Farmageddon” nickname: Two old-school, ground-and-pound teams going at it, a slobber-knocker reminiscent of when these teams met in the old Big Eight days.

The Cyclones struck first with a field goal, but it came at a cost when top rusher David Montgomery left with an injury on the game’s first series. Kansas State answered with a touchdown drive that Thompson capped with a short run, albeit one that was set up by a short field.

That was the only offense the Wildcats managed until the fourth quarter. They only had 53 yards at halftime, even though they took a 7-6 lead into the break.

“We just had a tough time getting things going,” Thompson said.

The Cyclones had no such problem in the second half, taking the lead on Marchie Murdock’s touchdown catch midway through the third quarter. Then, they pushed their advantage to 19-7 on Hakeem Butler’s grab in the corner of the end zone with 13:46 left in the game.

Kansas State finally resorted to using the Wildcat formation to march downfield, and still needed a trick play to score — running back Alex Barnes’ pop-pass to Winston Dimel on third-and-goal at 3. But the play seemed to energize the home sideline, and the defense channeled that energy on the field.

They gave up a long first-down play, then stopped Iowa State’s next conversion attempt, when a flag for pass interference on third down was picked up and the Cyclones were forced to punt.

It was one of several flags picked up during the game, most going against the Cyclones.

“I said this after our game against Oklahoma State, officiating is hard,” Campbell said. “It is a tough business, a tough possession. … They did the best job they could, just like our kids.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Iowa State wrapped up the season losing three of its last four games, though the seven wins was a big step in the right direction. Sheldon Croney ran for 63 yards in place of Montgomery, but it was clear the Cyclones’ offense suffered without their top rusher.

Kansas State never got its offense on track until the fourth quarter. Making things even tougher was a crucial personal foul penalty on special teams coach Sean Snyder late in the game. Still, the Wildcats made it a memorable Senior Day with their spirited finish.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT

When asked about the pass interference flag he picked up late in the game, referee Reggie Smith told a pool reporter: “Per Big 12 policy, officials cannot discuss a judgment call.”

UP NEXT

Iowa State awaits its first bowl bid since the 2012 Liberty Bowl.

Kansas State prepares for its eighth straight bowl game.

— Associated Press —

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Don’t label Arizona State guard Kodi Justice a long-range threat, only.

He’ll prove you wrong, and make you pay.

Displaying his offensive skills from every angle, Justice scored 19 of his 28 points in the second half to lead Arizona State to a 92-90 victory over Kansas State on Thursday in the Las Vegas Invitational.

“I’m a basketball player, I’m not just a shooter,” Justice said. “If people want to pigeonhole me as one thing, like I said, I’m a basketball player. I can do anything you ask me to do. If I need to guard somebody, if I need to dive on the ball, attack the basket. I was just trying to do anything in my power to help our team win.”

That he did, as he led a second-half rally to keep the Sun Devils (5-0) undefeated and launch them into the championship game, where they’ll face No. 15 Xavier (5-0) on Friday.

Clinging to a two-point lead, the Wildcats (4-1) opened the second half on a 7-0 run to extend their lead to nine, 51-42. But Arizona State quickly clawed its way back into the game, using a 12-2 run to take a 54-53 lead with 13:51 left in the contest.

From that point there were six lead changes and five ties, before Arizona State went on a 13-5 run to distance itself.

For awhile.

Trailing 77-69, Kansas State used a barrage of 3-pointers to get within one, 83-82, with less than four minutes to play. Justice hit a 3-pointer and 1 of 2 from the free-throw line to extend ASU’s lead back to five.

“I didn’t want to lose this game, it was a big one for us,” Justice said. “I know it’s early, and you say, `if you lose this it’s not that big of a deal,’ but we’re trying to build a resume for the future, to build this program up, to just be a winning program.”

But so are the Wildcats, who wouldn’t go away. They got within one after Barry Brown converted a 3-point play. And after Arizona State’s Remy Martin sank 1 of 2 free throws with 4.1 seconds left, Kansas State had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but Brown’s layup clanged off the rim.

“We just kept telling ourselves it wasn’t over, so credit to our guys,” Brown said. “It’s a new group so I wanted to see how we deal with adversity. So I’m glad to see with one minute left down (seven), we could still fight our way back.”

Romello White had 19 points and six rebounds for the Sun Devils, while Shannon Evans added 14.

“We kind of just battled,” Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley said. “We showed a lot of determination with how we played and just pushing through different adversities at all different times of the game.”

The Wildcats were led by Brown, who had 27 points, while Kamau Stokes scored 23.

One glaring discrepancy in the game was Arizona State taking 44 free-throw attempts — 31 in the second half — while the Wildcats took just nine. In the process, Kansas State lost 6-foot-9 forward Makol Mawien and 6-foot-5 forward Xavier Sneed, as they both fouled out.

“Obviously the fouls became a factor, because now you don’t have your guys in there,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “But we gotta get better, we gotta learn from it. There were some calls I questioned, there’s no doubt about it. But we gotta take care of the ball.”

Kansas State hit 17 of 27 (63 percent) from the field in the first half, including 50 percent (8 of 16) from 3-point range, but led just 44-42 at halftime, as the Sun Devils kept things close with their hot shooting.

Arizona State hit 13 of 25 (52 percent) from the floor, including 5 of 10 (50 percent) from long range in the first half. They also drained 11 of 13 from the free-throw line in the first 20 minutes.

BIG PICTURE

Arizona State: Tra Holder was looking to bring his hot hand to Las Vegas, as he entered the game after earning Pac-12 Player of the Week honors after averaging 35.7 minutes, 23.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists. On Nov. 19, against UC Irvine, the 6-foot-1 senior guard dropped a career-high 35 points on 13-of-15 shooting from the floor. But after scoring 11 points in the first half, Holder was shut out over the final 20 minutes.

Kansas State: The Wildcats opened the season with seven consecutive home games (three exhibition and four regular season), and are using their trip to Las Vegas as a litmus test against quality opponents. They’re also in the midst of playing six games in a 15-day span.

UP NEXT

Arizona State: Will play Xavier on Friday

Kansas State: Faces George Washington on Friday

— Associated Press —