Barry Brown scored 25 points and Xavier Sneed added 13 points and six rebounds to help lead Kansas State to a convincing 82-72 victory over Oklahoma State Wednesday night.
Dean Wade had 12 points, five rebounds and four assists while Kamau Stokes scored 11 for Kansas State (18-8, 7-6 Big 12). The Wildcats were 1-3 in their previous four contests.
Kendall Smith contributed 16 points and seven rebounds for Oklahoma State (15-11, 5-8). It was Smith's seventh straight outing with 10-plus points. Jeffrey Carroll added 13 points and nine rebounds.
Kansas State led just 18-16 when Smith put home a layup with 6:12 left in the opening half, but the Wildcats jumped out to a 12-0 run over the next four-plus minutes to take control of the contest. They outscored the Cowboys 19-4 over the remainder of the half to take a commanding 37-20 advantage into the second.
Oklahoma State shot just 23.5 percent from the floor in the first half (8 of 34), and although they Cowboys shot better in the second, K-State was able to keep the pressure on and never allowed Oklahoma State to get any closer than 13 until the final minute.
BIG PICTURE
Kansas State: The Wildcats have had a number of offensively-challenged performances over their past few outings, but they appeared to have a powerful attack in this one. After five straight games of producing fewer than 70 points and topping 38 percent shooting just once, Kansas State shot 55 percent (28 of 51), including 56 percent in the first half (15 of 27). That shooting percentage marked their highest in the last six games (since shooting 57 percent in a 90-83 win over Baylor on Jan. 22).
Oklahoma State: The frustrating every-other-outing pattern continues. The Cowboys keep following strong, full-60-minute performances in which they've secured key victories over difficult opponents with sub-par outings that result in losses to slightly lesser foes. They've pulled out triumphs against then-No. 4 Oklahoma (83-81 in overtime on Jan. 20), then-No. 7 Kansas (84-79 on Feb. 3) and then-No. 19 West Virginia (88-85 last Saturday), but have followed each with losses to TCU, Baylor and now K-State. After the West Virginia win, it seemed like OSU might finally break the streak, but once again, the Cowboys fell behind by a large margin late in the first half. The inevitable second half comeback attempt also followed, but it was too little, too late as OSU couldn't get to closer than 14 until the final 3:18.
UP NEXT
Kansas State: The Wildcats return home to take on Iowa State on Saturday, a team they defeated 91-75 back on Dec. 29.
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys go back out on the road for a matchup Saturday against TCU, whom they lost to 79-66 on Jan. 30.
