BIG 12 MEN'S BB: Iowa State shocks No. 11 K-State

Sports

January 27, 2013

BIG 12 MEN'S BB: Iowa State shocks No. 11 K-State

ASSOCIATED PRESS Associated Press Sun Jan 27, 2013, 12:52 PM CST

AMES, Iowa — The worst week of Kansas State's season is over.

Fortunately for the Wildcats, they still have plenty of time to prove they'll be a factor in the Big 12.

Will Clyburn had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Iowa State beat No. 11 Kansas State 73-67 on Saturday to hand the Wildcats their second straight loss after a 15-2 start.

Freshman Georges Niang added 15 points for the Cyclones (14-5, 4-2 Big 12), who beat a ranked opponent for the first time this season.

"Now we had a reality smack," Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. "We've got to get back to where we were and do the things that we did well to give us a chance."

Kansas State did just that in the second half, shooting 64 percent and answering basket after basket by Iowa State.

The Wildcats simply ran out of chances.

Rodney McGruder broke free for a dunk to get the Wildcats within 70-67 with 48.5 seconds left, but Korie Lucious answered with a layup to make it a two-score game with 20 seconds to go.

Will Spradlin had 15 points and McGruder scored 13 to lead the Wildcats (15-4, 4-2), who lost on the road for the first time in four games.

"The things that made us good for most of the season is that we guarded and out-toughed and outplayed people," Weber said, adding that Iowa State "made more determined plays when it counted."

Kansas State's eight-game winning streak was stopped Wednesday by No. 3 Kansas, which won 59-55 for its 23rd victory in 25 tries at Bramlage Coliseum.

The Wildcats are now on their first losing streak of the season.

Iowa State finally got some breathing room with 5:24 left as Clyburn found Lucious, who stopped under the basket and flipped the ball back to Melvin Ejim for a two-handed stuff that put the Cyclones ahead 63-56. Clyburn then beat three Kansas State defenders for a rebound on the wing, and Niang turned it into a 3-pointer that made it 68-62 with 2:35 left.

Lucious had 10 points and eight assists a day after calling a players-only meeting to rally the Cyclones, who were 11 of 22 from 3-point range.

"We could never really get enough momentum to change the game," Weber said. "When you go 11 from 22 from the 3 it's probably a difference maker. And yet, throughout the whole thing we're right there."

Iowa State had an impressive start to Big 12 play, rattling off wins over Texas, West Virginia and TCU after nearly beating Kansas in Lawrence in the league opener.

But the Cyclones had their momentum stunted by Texas Tech, which on Wednesday handed them their first bad loss, 56-51.

Iowa State responded by being the aggressor early against the Wildcats. The Cyclones went on a 10-0 run capped by a nifty, underhand scoop from Niang to go up 24-15. But Kansas State rallied, moving back in front 27-26 at halftime in large part because Iowa State was just 3 of 10 from the free throw line.

The teams went back and forth for much of the second half, as the Wildcats kept Iowa State from building anything more than a slim advantage until the final minute.

Free throws were a factor as well. The Cyclones were 10 of 22 from the line and Kansas State was 4 of 9.

"I challenged our guys. I said, `Fellas, we are scoring every time down the floor. We've got to find a way to get stops and string them together,"' Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said. "The last 4 minutes I thought we did a much better job of finding a way to get stops."

Kansas State entered play ranked seventh in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage defense, while the Cyclones were sixth in the country with 9 made 3s per game.

Iowa State got the better of the Wildcats as far as 3s went and withstood a number of impressive responses by Kansas State.

"We were big on focus," Niang said. "We came back and practice was real tough the last two days. We got after each other."

Shane Southwell had 11 points for Kansas State, which lost despite shooting 50.9 percent from the field.

"We'll be fine. We'll be fine. We're going to compete at a high level," Southwell said.

Text Only

Sports

Gasso trusts that Ricketts will find her timing again
Oklahoma pitcher Keilani Ricketts was not at her best on Sunday. The defending USA Softball Player of the Year didn’t give up a run in her two and two-thirds innings of work, but she was far from the dominant pitcher who tossed a no-hitter last week.

May 20, 2013
Sooners claim regular season finale with win over K-State
Oklahoma managed to end the regular season on a positive note Sunday. Kolbey Carpenter went 2 for 4 and drove in three runs to help power the Sooners to a 7-3 victory over Kansas State at Tointon Stadium.

May 20, 2013
Chamberlain's curtain call only the beginning
The chant reaching near-deafening levels, Lauren Chamberlain finally realized what she was supposed to do.

Moments after blasting a three-run home run that broke open what had been a close regional final, the sophomore tepidly stepped up out of the dugout and waved to the home crowd, enjoying the first curtain call of her career.

May 20, 2013
OU's dominant victory a shining example of how tough Sooners are in softball
On the first day Oklahoma softball coach Patty Gasso thought it was better to go with Michelle Gascoigne over Keilani Ricketts against Arkansas’ bats, the Sooners beat the Razorbacks by five runs.

A day later Gasso had the same thought. OU prevailed by 13 runs.

May 20, 2013
Cowboys fall short in Big 12 regular season finale
Oklahoma State University played catch up the entire game of Saturday’s series finale with West Virginia at Allie P. Reynolds, and never could quite get over the hump.
The Cowboys would respond after each Mountaineer score but it wouldn’t be enough as they lost the finale 5-4 on Senior Day.

May 20, 2013
Referees stop Lake Eufaula Classic with South on top
It was an outcome unlike any in the 29 years of the Lake Eufaula Classic, and a bruise different than any player has ever departed with.

Officials, following the second serious skirmish of the game, walked off the field and the game was called, the South leading the North 12-10 at Paul Bell Stadium.

May 20, 2013
Grand Junction Bound: Connors State advances to JUCO World Series
All season long, Connors State coach Perry Keith has said his team was winning a lot of ball games ugly.

On Saturday, the game between the Cowboys and No. 1 Delgado (La.) was anything but as Connors beat the Dolphins 3-1 to capture the South Central district championship and a berth in next week’s NJCAA College World Series.

May 20, 2013
Young Americans waste no time qualifying for Indy 500
Bump Day at Indianapolis followed the script.
No surprises, no drama and no drivers getting bumped.
On a day devoid of tension and rumors, all nine drivers who made attempts on the second and final day of Indianapolis 500 qualifications made it into the 33-car field, led by two young Americans - Josef Newgarden and Graham Rahal - who easily had the two fastest cars on the track.

May 20, 2013
NCAA WOMEN'S BB: Texas Tech hires OSU assistant Candi Whitaker
Texas Tech has hired Oklahoma State assistant Candi Whitaker to coach its women's basketball team.
The school announced Monday that the former Lady Raiders player would return to her alma mater as coach. The move comes about a week after Kristy Curry left for Alabama.

May 20, 2013
Pacers, Heat start bracing to square off again
A year ago when Miami and Indiana faced off in the postseason, there were blood-drawing hits, flagrant fouls, technical fouls, choke signs being directed toward LeBron James and more than a few sharp-tongued comments.
Here they possibly go again, at least on the comment front.
The Eastern Conference finals between the Heat and Pacers won't begin until Wednesday night, but there's already signs that the animosity present throughout last season's Miami-Indiana second-round series will likely return this time around.

May 20, 2013
More Sports Headlines

Sports

Search Results

BIG 12 MEN'S BB: Iowa State shocks No. 11 K-State

Over the past two weeks the price of a gallon of gas has jumped more than 20 cents. As of Wednesday, it cost 3.64. What do you attribute the sudden rise in cost?

Site Map

Contact Us