Marcus Foster and Thomas Gipson scored 14 points apiece to lead four players in double figures and the Wildcats fought off several Gonzaga surges in the second half as K-State defeated the Zags 72-62 before 13,224 Saturday afternoon at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita in the 2013 Wichita Wildcat Classic.
Foster’s three-pointer just 11 seconds into the contest sparked an 8-2 run to get the Wildcats started. Gonzaga then went on a 12-5 run to grab a 14-13 lead with 11:28 left in the first half. Shane Southwell’s three pointer helped K-State regain the lead at 18-15 and from there K-State outscored the Zags 11-9 to lead 29-24 at halftime. The Wildcats stretched the lead to nine points with the first two baskets of the second half, but 15th-ranked Gonzaga refused to roll over and came storming back even taking a 52-51 lead with nine minutes remaining.
Nigel Johnson’s layup 36 seconds later gave the Wildcats an advantage they would never relinquish as K-State would outscore the Zags from that point on 19-10 while extending their current winning streak to six games. Perhaps the game’s signature moment came earlier in the second half when Foster threw down a monster one-handed dunk igniting the Pro-Wildcat crowd at Intrust.
Other high scorers for K-State were Wesley Iwundu with 13 points and Southwell with 11. Kevin Pangos led Gonzaga with 14 points.
Kansas State (8-3) will next be in action on December 28 as they make their first-ever visit to the Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets where they will face Tulane in the Brooklyn Hoops Festival. Tipoff will be at 4 p.m.
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