Kansas State men’s basketball delivered on senior day, taking down No. 6 Iowa State 65-58. The win came after a disastrous 90-68 loss to No. 14 Kansas Tuesday. Although the Cyclones kept close to the Wildcats in the second half, they were able to outplay the Cyclones for an essential end-of-season win.
K-State had a slow start in the beginning minutes with multiple early turnovers. The Wildcats tightened up the score toward the end of the first half by scoring baskets and making good defensive decisions.
Guard Cam Carter dropped a violent dunk to open the first half. However, after four turnovers, the Cyclones increased their lead to 9-2.
“This game, you know I had to realize who I am, and through a lot of prayer, I found who I am,” Carter said. “I know who I am.”
K-State climbed back as guard Tylor Perry brought the score within one with a bounce-pass assist to forward David N’Guessan to go down 11-10.
“We want David back,” head coach Jerome Tang said about the forward with a year of eligibility left. “I think he knows we want him back. I believe that it’s going to help his career in the long run because of the growth that he’s making and the confidence that he’s starting to play with.”
The Wildcats continued to struggle offensively until Perry hit the Wildcats’ first 3-pointer to go down 18-16.
“T.J.’s [Otzelberger] done a really good job since he’s been at Iowa State of putting a team together that compliments each other,” Tang said. “He’s done a terrific job of instilling his DNA into them. They play like him. Tough. Competitive. Smart.”
After struggling as of late, forward Arthur Kaluma tied the game 19-19 with a 3-pointer followed up by another from Carter. Guard Dai Dai Ames electrified the crowd right after by gaining a steal and passing it up to an open N’Guessan who scored the fast-break layup.
“You don’t have a chance of beating an Iowa State team that T.J. coaches if you don’t win the fifty-fifty balls and the hustle stuff,” Tang said. “And you can still not beat them. They’re that good. We had to do that to give ourselves even a chance to win.”
In the final seconds of the half, the Cyclones decided to switch their man-to-man defense with a 2-3 zone. Kaluma received the ball at the top of the lane and was able to score a layup with 12 seconds left in the half.
Both teams walked out of the half after the Cyclones scored an easy layup. The Wildcats finished the half up by four, 28-24.
As the game continued, the Wildcats started to make better defensive decisions, scoring 20 points off turnovers total in the final half of the game, bringing the lead to 45-30.
“Honestly our defense is really solid,” Kaluma said. “It was just the fact that we were turning the ball over. So once we clean that up, our half court defense is top three in the Big 12 right now. So it wasn’t too difficult to make sure to eradicate the deficit and come back and just play our basketball for now on.”
The game started to get tight after a Cyclone 10-0 run closed the score to 48-43. The Wildcats quickly responded to go up 53-43 with five minutes left to go in the game.
After another load of the Cyclones’ heavy press, the Wildcats officially declared senior day victory as the clock ran out, 65-58.
“It’s been a blessing to put on this K-State uniform,” Perry said. “And I’m more than thankful to be here. I wouldn’t change anything in the world for it. It’s been a journey. But like I said the other day, I’m super thankful for this coaching staff who chose me to come lead this program. We aren’t done yet. We have unfinished business.”
This significant win places K-State at a 8-10 conference record. The Wildcats enter Big 12 tournament play at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
