Simas Lukosius drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 10.6 seconds left that lifted Cincinnati to a 74-72 Big 12 win over visiting Kansas State on Saturday night.
Lukosius finished with 13 while John Newman III scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half for Cincinnati (17-12, 6-10 Big 12), which snapped a three-game losing streak.
Tylor Perry had 26, including six threes, to pace Kansas State (17-12, 7-9), which saw its modest two-game win streak snapped and lost for the eighth time in 11 games.
Trailing by two, Perry attempted a drive to the basket but lost control with 2.7 seconds left.
David N’Guessan blocked a Lukosius layup with 54 seconds left and Kansas State leading by one. But Cincinnati came up with a defensive stop, leading to Lukosius’ heroics.
Kansas State wiped out a 12-point deficit in the final five minutes to take the late lead.
With Perry leading a furious rally with a pair of threes and Cincinnati’s lead down to three, Day Day Thomas stripped Cam Carter on a drive to the basket, fed Newman on a fast break. Newman’s one-handed slam put UC up, 71-66, with 3:25 left.
But a minute later, following three Carter free throws to cut the Cincinnati lead to 71-69, Thomas stepped out of bounds before driving to the basket for a dunk.
That was followed by a deep pullup three from Perry with 1:16 left to cap an 18-4 run and give Kansas State its only second half lead, 72-71.
Both teams were cold from the floor to start the game, with Kansas State missing their first four shots and Cincinnati misfiring on six of their first seven from the field.
The Wildcats didn’t get on the board until Dai Dai Ames drained a straightaway three over four minutes into the first half. Kansas State finished the first half making just 7-of-24 shots, including five layups.
Kansas State cut the deficit to 34-27 to end the first half and scored the first four points of the second half to draw within three, 34-31.
Newman then sparked a 13-4 Cincinnati run with three layups and a three to help the Bearcats build the lead up to 12, 47-35.
–Field Level Media