Kansas State collected its seventh loss in conference play Tuesday, Jan. 27, falling 59–54 to West Virginia after one of the strongest first-half defensive showings of the year.

Cats start red hot, fall off to trail at half

The Wildcats shot 33% from the field in the first half, knocking down four threes in the process. 

David Castillo led K-State early with nine points, followed by Nate Johnson scoring eight at the break, adding five rebounds and two assists in the opening 20 minutes.

The Wildcats led by as many as eight in the first half, courtesy of made baskets by both Johnson and Castillo. The pair ended the game combining for 28 points.

West Virginia’s leading scorer, Honor Huff, knocked down four shots from the field in the first half, all from beyond the arc. The Mountaineers entered the break ahead 28–20 after holding K-State to just five points over the final four minutes of play.

“We allowed [Huff] to hit four threes without a dribble,” K-State head coach Jerome Tang said. “We can’t have those kinds of errors. That’s a scouting error that we’re good enough to overcome.”

Defense wins championships, but it doesn’t climb mountains

The Wildcats held a road opponent to 60 points or fewer for the first time all season, the fewest points scored by a conference opponent on the road since March 5 against Cincinnati. K-State forced seven second-half turnovers and held West Virginia to 23% shooting from beyond the arc down the stretch.

Huff was the only West Virginia starter to reach double figures in the first 20 minutes, marking the first time in conference play that K-State held a road opponent to fewer than two players in double figures in a single half.

“They’re such a good defensive team,” Tang said. “You’ve got to play with pace and ball movement, and too many times we didn’t have that.”

The Wildcats became the second team in the last two seasons to hold the Mountaineers under the 60-point mark at home.

Haggerty breaks out in the second half, Wildcats pull ahead

The second half of Tuesday’s contest belonged to P.J. Haggerty. All 16 of Haggerty’s points for K-State came in the second half, including a triple to keep the Wildcats within one score under three minutes.

“Sometimes it’s the shot for [Haggerty], and sometimes it’s making the play and getting the ball to someone else. You just want to make the right play.”

Haggerty entered the contest averaging 23.4 points per game, ranking fifth nationally and leading the conference. The Memphis transfer finished with five rebounds and three assists, shooting 50% from the floor and 2-of-4 from deep in the second half.

West Virginia was held scoreless for more than seven minutes down the stretch, giving K-State a 49-45 edge with just over three minutes remaining.

Two made shots by Huff and Treyston Eaglestaff and an airballed triple later, the Wildcats trailed by five as the clock ticked down to zero.

“We didn’t execute,” Tang said. “We didn’t take the kind of shots we wanted to take. They executed better than we did.”

Up Next

Kansas State hosts Iowa State on Feb. 1 at 1 p.m. Sunday’s contest will stream on FOX.