MANHATTAN, Kan. ? Iowa State fell 65-47 to Kansas State Saturday evening despite being down by only two at the half.
The loss drops the Cyclones 4-8 in Big 12 play and 13-13 overall. Kansas State improved to 8-4 in the Big 12 and 19-8 on the season.
“Our guys deserve a lot of credit for executing in the first half,” said ISU head coach Greg McDermott. “Our guys did what we asked them to do, and Kansas State changed their game plan. Unfortunately, we didn't have the personnel to adjust to their adjustments.”
Jiri Hubalek opened the first half with eight of Iowa State's first 10 points. With 10:50 on the clock, the Cyclones went on a 10-2 run, holding Kansas State to just 3-of-13 shooting. The Wildcats clawed back and with 5:43 left in the half, Kansas State took the lead, 15-14, with a jumper by David Hoskins.
The Wildcats went on another 9-0 run with 4:44 left in the half before Dodie Dunson scored the first Cyclone basket in over six minutes. Mike Taylor scored a go-ahead 3-pointer, 20-19, with 2:21 left to play in the half, making it his 22nd consecutive game with a trey and giving him sole possession of the ISU school record. Kansas State's Cartier Martin matched Taylor's 3-pointer to take the Wildcat lead into the locker room, 22-20.
Wesley Johnson started the second half with a jumper just inside the 3-point arc, marking his first points of the game. With 16:21 to play, Hoskins sunk two free throws to put the Wildcat lead at seven. After a steal in the next possession, Martin drained a 3-pointer to cap an 8-0 run in just 43 seconds, and extend the lead to 10.
With 14:17 left to play, Johnson scored just the second Cyclone basket of the half after going nearly six mintues without a field goal. Iowa State faced a 13 point deficit, 39-26. Kansas State's Martin hit two free throws after Rahshon Clark committed his fourth foul with 11:43 on the clock. Seconds later, Lance Harris hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to push the Wildcat lead to 16.
Taylor hit a field goal in the paint with 7:52 to play to put the Cyclones back within 16, 51-35. Taylor hit his second field goal of the half, a 3-pointer, with just over five minutes on the clock to ignite an 8-2 Cyclone run. Kansas State responded with back-to-back 3-pointers by Lance Harris, however, to quiet the Cyclone rally with four minutes left to play. Harris scored 13 points in the second half. Kansas State maintained their lead in the final minutes, with a final score of 65-47.
Taylor led the Cyclones with 17 points and 5 rebounds. Johnson contributed eight points and two rebounds, making him second on Iowa State's freshman rebounding list.
Game Notes:
Taylor now holds the Iowa State record of most consecutive games with a trey at 22.
Wesley Johnson grabbed two rebounds to increase his season total to 214...he now ranks second all-time on ISU's freshman rebounding list.