Cats Stumble at Wichita State in Non-Conference Finale

A promising season for Kansas State men’s basketball teeters on the edge of disaster after three straight losses to close out non-conference play.

Macaleab Rich’s career-high 20 points were for naught Saturday night at Koch Arena in Wichita, as the Wichita State Shockers scored 55 second-half points to breeze past the Wildcats 84-65. The loss to the Shockers follows defeats at St. John’s and on a neutral floor against Drake.

The Wildcats led 33-29 at the half, powered by the sophomore Rich, who scored 13 of his points in the first 20 minutes. They closed the half on an 8-0 run. But after a back-and-forth start to the second half, the Shockers went on a 12-3 run to take a 56-48 lead with 9:38 to play, and would never trail again.

Brendan Hausen joined Rich in double-figures for K-State with 13 points. Wichita State was led by Xavier Bell, who poured in a game-high 24 points.

The loss drops K-State to 6-5 with the always-difficult Big 12 schedule looming. The Wildcats open conference play next Monday, December 30th, as they host Cincinnati, who is ranked in the top 20 in both major Top 25 polls.