Short-handed and far from home, Oklahoma State did something it
hadn't done since Eddie Sutton played for the Cowboys.
James Anderson scored 30 points and Obi Muonelo hit two key
3-pointers in the final minutes Saturday, lifting underdog Oklahoma
State to a 73-69 victory over No. 10 Kansas State. It had been just
six days since the crestfallen Wildcats (16-3, 3-2 Big 12) beat No.
1 Texas on the same floor.
It had been 52 years since Oklahoma State (15-4, 3-2) beat a
top 10 team on the road. Sutton, the former Oklahoma State coach,
was a forward when the Cowboys beat No. 2 Kansas 52-50 in overtime
in 1958.
"In this league, everybody knows what each other is going to
do," said Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford, who decided on Thursday
that point guard Ray Penn would sit out with a leg injury.
"But this Kansas State team is a great basketball team. It
was just one of those nights."
The victory over Texas in their previous game was just Kansas
State's third over a No. 1 team and boosted basketball fever among
Wildcats fans to its highest point in decades. But after playing so
well, the Wildcats were off their game in just about every respect.
"We missed 47 open shots. We didn't get any offensive
rebounds," said coach Frank Martin. "We just missed shot after shot
after shot. Didn't make free throws, didn't make lay-ups. Couldn't
catch the ball. I obviously didn't do my job very well preparing
this team to play."
Were the Wildcats guilty of a letdown?
"I don't want to hear that," Martin said.
Kansas State sliced a six-point deficit to one on Curtis
Kelly's two free throws with 26.9 seconds to go. But the Wildcats
fouled on each of their next two possessions. Nick Sidorakis iced
the victory with a pair of free throws with 5 seconds to go in a
rough-and-tumble game that included three technical fouls and 36
turnovers.
Anderson, the Big 12's leading scorer, missed only one of 11
free throws and was 9 for 18 from the floor while tying his season
high. He was nearly unstoppable even though the Wildcats
double-teamed him every time he touched the ball, scoring 19 in the
first half.
"I thought I had to start out strong from the beginning of
the game and do whatever I could to let us be aggressive instead of
them," he said. "Ever since we started preparing for Kansas State,
our main focus has been playing defense, rebounding the ball and
stopping them in transition. That's what we came out and did."
Denis Clemente had 19 points for Kansas State and Curtis
Kelly had 13.
Muonelo had 14 for Oklahoma State and hit a 3-pointer to give
Oklahoma State a 61-56 lead. Then with 2:11 to go his 3-pointer put
the Cowboys on top 66-60.
The loss snapped Kansas State's 14-game winning streak in
Bramlage Coliseum, their longest since the facility opened 22 years
ago.
"Anybody can beat anybody," said Kansas State guard Jacob
Pullen. "You have to be consistent and you have to have everyone
clicking and we just did not have that tonight."
After Kelly's two free throws made it 70-69, he was called
for a foul during a struggle for a loose ball on the other end and
Roger Franklin made one of two foul shots. Chris Merriewether was
called for a foul under the Kansas State basket and Sidorakis went
to the line for Oklahoma State.
Technical fouls were called against Kansas State's Denis
Clemente, Oklahoma State's Matt Pilgrim and Martin.
"James Anderson stepped up and played like the leading scorer
in this league. He played like the best player on his team," said
Martin. "He knew his point guard was down and he stepped up his
play on short notice. That's what good players do."
Oklahoma State trailed by three points at halftime but opened
the second half with a 10-1 run and silenced the sellout crowd when
Anderson's fastbreak bucket put the surprising Cowboys on top
42-36.
