From K-State
Texas opened the second half on a 12-0 run, part of a 20-2 run that was sandwiched between the two halves, as the Longhorns earned their first Big 12 win of the season and kept Kansas State winless in league play with a 64-50 win on Saturday night before 8,496 fans at the Frank Erwin Center.
The loss punctuated a frustrating day for K-State (7-8, 0-3 Big 12), which saw the team not arrive in Austin until 2:30 p.m., on Saturday due to weather delays and mechanical issues with the team’s charter flight.
With K-State leading 25-23 after a layup by junior Cartier Diarra with 2:48 before halftime, Texas scored 20 of the game’s next 22 points, flipping a two-point deficit into a 43-27 lead with 13:11 to play. The Wildcats missed their first 12 field goals of the second half before the Longhorns were called for a goaltend on a Diarra layup at the 12:00 mark. The team shot just 30 percent (9-of-30) after halftime with 10 turnovers.
In contrast, the Texas offense was firing on all cylinders for much of the game, as the Longhorns (11-4, 1-2 Big 12) connected on 49 percent (24-of-49) from the field, including 43.5 percent (10-of-23) from 3-point range, in leading for nearly 34 minutes. They became the second consecutive team to knock down 10 3-pointers against K-State.
Diarra was the only Wildcat to score in double figures with a game-tying 14 points on 6-of-16 field goals to go with 5 assists, while freshman DaJuan Gordon added 9 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals off the bench.
Junior Matt Coleman III paced 3 Longhorns in double figures with a game-tying 14 points on 4-of-12 field goals, while sophomore Courtney Ramey and junior Jase Febres added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Junior Jericho Sims chipped in 8 points, a game-high 8 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.
The 50 points marked a season-low for K-State, as the team connected on 37 percent (20-of-54) from the field, including 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from 3-point range, made just 5 of 9 free throws (55.6 percent). The Wildcats did take advantage of double-digit Longhorn turnovers, scoring 23 points of those 20 miscues.
It marked just the second double-digit loss for the Wildcats after losing 6 by single digits.
