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Barry Brown’s layup in the closing seconds capped off a late rally by Kansas State to stun the 20th ranked Cyclones 58-57 in Hilton Coliseum. It was a game of missed opportunities and lack of execution all around, as Iowa State struggled with a K-State team ranked in the top 10 of the nation in scoring defense. The Cyclones came in to the game averaging over 80 points per game, but were quickly pulled into a physical game by the Wildcats.
The first half was characterized by a lack of hustle and a number of missed open shots. Kansas State seemingly pulled a basket out whenever they needed in the closing seconds of the shot clock, and took a 35-26 lead into the locker room.
The first 10 minutes of the second half were more of the same, as Iowa State would climb back into the game but was unable to grab the lead and pull away. The Cyclones finally grabbed a late lead with a Nick Weiler-Babb 3 pointer with 6:42 to play. George Conditt IV followed that with a dunk off an offensive rebound, and a Marial Shayok layup in transition stretched the lead to 55-48 with 5 minutes to go. Kansas State closed on a 10-2 run from there. Lindell Wigginton missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 15 seconds left and the Cyclones leading by 1. Brown took it coast to coast for a go-ahead layup from there. Coach Steve Prohm elected not to use his last timeout, and Wigginton’s desperation heave was off target.
Weiler-Babb lead the way with just 11 points, making 3 of 7 3 point attempts. George Conditt had 9 points on 4-4 shooting with 2 blocks in just 15 minutes. Barry Brown lead the way for Kansas State with 23 points, including 18 of the 23 the Wildcats scored in the 2nd half.
Officiating will certainly be a topic of conversation post-game, as the game was at times too physical. However, Iowa State did themselves no favors by only making 6 of 12 free throw attempts, including 3 front ends of 1-and-1s missed. The Cyclones will have a few days to collect themselves before a tough road test against #8 Texas Tech on Wednesday night.