No. 7 Mountaineers jolted on road
Wildcats cut 12-point deficit to two before half, then surge for big upset
MANHATTAN, Kan. — After coming close on a few occasions this season, Kansas State finally picked up that elusive win against a ranked opponent.
Kamau Stokes and Barry Brown each scored 13 points to help Kansas State rally to upset No. 7 West Virginia, 79-75, Saturday night in the Big 12 Conference. Brown reflected on the team’s ability to finally get over the hump and defeat a ranked team this season.
“It’s great, I mean especially being on this team last year and not being able to get over the hump besides beating [Oklahoma]. Coach talked about playing with maturity, courage and just coming out with a win at home feels good.”
The Wildcats (15-4, 4-3) trailed by 12 late in the first half before Stokes keyed a late burst, hitting a layup right before the halftime buzzer to cut the deficit to two at the half.
Buoyed by that run, Kansas State went on a 14-6 run to start the second half and take a 50-44 lead on a layup by Dean Wade.
The Mountaineers (15-4, 43) trailed, 65-55, with 7:43 left before taking a 68-67 lead on Nathan Adrian’s jumper with just under 5 minutes left.
Turnovers by the Mountaineers eventually would be their undoing. After averaging just a shade over 11 turnovers per game, the Mountaineers committed 23 in the loss.
“When you look at the amount of turnovers, and their halfcourt defense is not something to turn people over,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said after the contest.
“We just threw it away. What kills you is unforced turnovers. It’s one that you are forced to play at a pace you cannot play, or your will have guys with the ball that do not know what to do with the ball. The unforced ones absolutely kill you.”
Wesley Iwundu and Stokes combined to score the next seven points to help Kansas State get the win.
Tarik Phillip led West Virginia with 20 points.
The loss by West Virginia marks the first time the Mountaineers have lost consecutive games this season.
The Mountaineers return home for a Tuesday night game against second-ranked Kansas.