Tylor Perry scored 17 points to lead a quartet of Kansas State players in double figures as the Wildcats defeated in-state rival Wichita State 69-60 on Thursday in Kansas City, Mo.
The Wildcats have won five straight in the series.
Kansas State (9-3) also got 15 points from Cam Carter, 13 points and nine rebounds from David N’Guessan and 11 points from Arthur Kaluma.
Wichita State (8-4) was led by Quincy Ballard with 13 points, while Xavier Bell and Colby Rogers added 12 points apiece.
Neither team shot particularly well.
The Wildcats finished 20 of 50 (40 percent) on Thursday after hitting just 26.7 percent from the field, including 4 of 30 (13.3 percent) from 3-point range, in their loss to Nebraska on Sunday.
Wichita State was 26 of 63 (41.3 percent).
Kansas State led by four at halftime, and the second half started much like the first with the teams trading buckets. Perry found N’Guessan for a back-door layup, helping Kansas State open its largest lead at 46-38. N’Guessan then scored again, opening up a double-digit lead for the first time.
After Perry gave the Wildcats a 51-40 lead with a 3-pointer, the Shockers went on a 7-0 run to cut it to a four-point deficit midway through the half. But Kansas State answered with a 7-0 run, capped by a Perry 3-pointer.
The Wildcats pulled away from there.
The first half didn’t decide much as Kansas State took a 33-29 lead into the locker room. Each time one team would go on a mini-run, the other side would answer.
Kansas State’s largest first-half lead was six points, the last time at 33-27. Wichita State’s biggest lead was three, the last time at 15-12.
The Wildcats were led by Carter before halftime with 10 points. Wichita State was led by Rogers with seven points. The biggest problem for the Shockers was foul trouble, as they had five players pick up two fouls in the first half.
Kansas State was 13-for-18 from the free-throw line in the first half, while Wichita State didn’t attempt a free-throw. The Shockers shot 1-for-12 on 3-point attempts prior to halftime and finished 3-for-19 (15.8 percent) from long distance. The Wildcats hit 6 of 18 attempts (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
–Field Level Media