K-State Stays Alive in Big 12 Tournament With Win Over Texas

Tylor Perry led five Kansas State Wildcats in double figures with 21 points and the Wildcats rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat the Texas Longhorns 78-74 in the second round of the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

Trailing 39-29 at the intermission, K-State seized the lead back when Perry hit a long three with 12:37 to play in the game. It was part of a 13-2 run that gave the Wildcats a lead they would not relinquish, thanks to Perry and Cam Carter going 6-for-6 at the free throw line in the final minute to hold off a frantic Longhorn charge.

While Texas shot 57 percent from the field in the first half and held K-State to 37.5 percent shooting to build their lead, the roles reversed in the second half. The Wildcats shot 55 percent in the second half and Texas was limited to just 29 percent from the floor.

The tenth-seeded Wildcats also got 14 points from Arthur Kaluma – 12 coming in the second half – 13 points from David N’Guessan, and 10 points apiece from Carter and Dai Dai Ames. Max Abmas led the seventh-seeded Longhorns with 26 points, including three three-pointers in the final minute of the game that forced K-State to close the game out with free throws.

K-State improves to 19-13 with the win and will play the tournament’s number two seed, Iowa State, Thursday night at 6pm. The Wildcats split with the Cyclones this season, with each team winning on their own home floor.