No. 10 Iowa State forced Kansas State men’s basketball into 17 turnovers, scoring 22 points off those miscues, as the Cyclones earned a 73-57 senior day spoiler over the Wildcats in the regular-season finale for both teams on Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum.
“As a coach, I’m extra nervous on senior night because I just want them to have a good experience the last time they leave the floor,” head coach Jerome Tang said to K-State Athletics. “I’m hurt for them, regardless of record or any of those types of things. (Again), This is the last time they’re going to play on this floor, and you want them to walk away with a good feeling. So (the loss) just sucks. Credit to Iowa State; they did a great job.”
With the loss, K-State (15-16, 9-11 Big 12) will now be the No. 10 seed at next week’s Big 12 Championship and begin play on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Iowa State (23-8, 13-7 Big 12), which was already locked into the No. 5 seed at the Big 12 Championship, led nearly wire-to-wire to even the regular-season series after K-State earned an 80-61 win on Feb. 1 that snapped a 29-game home-court winning streak at Hilton Coliseum.
The Cyclones were strong on both ends of the court, hitting on 47.1 percent (24-of-51) from the field and 81.8 percent (18-of-22) from the free throw line, while holding the Wildcats to 37.7 percent (20-of-53) shooting, including 9.5 percent (2-of-21) from 3-point range.
Iowa State was paced by a game-high 24 points from senior Curtis Jones while big men Joshua Jefferson and Dishon Jackson added 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Senior David N’Guessan led the way for K-State for third consecutive game with 19 points on 8-of-10 field goals and 3-of-5 free throws to go with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and a steal in his final game at Bramlage Coliseum.
“I don’t know if I have any other adjectives to describe what he’s meant to us,” Tang said. “He’s been an incredible human being from the moment we met him. He has a big heart and is a very kind spirit. He has a beautiful family that loves him … He chose to stay with us for three years in a day and age where people are moving around a lot .. I’m extremely thankful for that. As a player, his consistency that he’s played with, and the effort that he’s given, there’s no task that’s too minor to ask of him. Just to see him grow, and his confidence grow from his first year to where he is now, those are the kind of things that you sign up to be a coach for.”
He was joined in double figures by junior Dug McDaniel, who finished with 14 points and a game-high 6 assists.
Iowa State took advantage of K-State’s poor shooting to start the game, including a nearly 5-minute scoreless stretch, to jump out to a double-digit lead at 22-11 with less 9 minutes to play in the opening half. A 5-0 run by N’Guessan pulled the Wildcats to within 22-16 nearly 90 seconds later but a 12-2 response by the Cyclones gave them a 16-point lead with just over 3 minutes left. The momentum swung to the home team, as they ended the half on an 8-0 run to close to 34-26.
Back-to-back baskets by sophomore Mobi Ikegwuruka and N’Guessan pulled K-State to within 40-34 with 15:38 left in the contest. However, ISU had a perfect response to the run with 11 consecutive points to go up 51-34 and force a timeout by head coach Jerome Tang with 12:03 to play. From that point, the Wildcats go no closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
N’Guessan now his 50 career double-digit scoring games, including a team-high 25 this season.
Senior Coleman Hawkins grabbed a game-high 9 rebounds in his final game at Bramlage Coliseum to go with 5 assists, 4 points and 2 blocks in 33 minutes. Another senior – Max Jones – added 7 points and 4 rebounds in nearly 27 minutes.
The teams split their 2 regular-season meetings for the fourth straight season, as K-State now holds a 147-95 all-time record in the series, including 85-30 at home and 25-12 at Bramlage Coliseum.
The Wildcats will face Arizona State in the Big 12 Tournament opener on Tuesday. K-State traded wins with the Sun Devils with the away team winning each game during the regular season.
