Foster makes 3 in OT, lifts Kansas St past No. 16 Oklahoma


NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- Marcus Foster made perhaps the biggest shot of his Kansas State career, then followed it with a bigger one a few minutes later.
His floater forced overtime, then he drained a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left in the extra period for the winner as the Wildcats beat No. 16 Oklahoma 66-63 on Saturday night.
Foster said he enjoyed playing the role of childhood hero Kobe Bryant. It was the sophomore's first game-winner since his senior year of high school.
"Growing up, all I did was watch Kobe," he said. "I watched Kobe in his prime, and he was still making game-winners and big shots, so it's something I always imagined myself doing at the college level."
On the floater in regulation, the 6-foot-3 Foster had to get the shot over Oklahoma's 6-8 Ryan Spangler.
"It definitely felt good when it left my hand," he said. "As soon as I seen it go over Spangler's hands, it felt good. I knew it was going in."
In overtime, it was just a matter of using proper fundamentals.
"I was confident with the three," he said. "As soon as I got my feet set ... I knew it was going in."
Oklahoma's TaShawn Thomas missed a 3-pointer that could have forced a second overtime as time expired.
Stephen Hurt scored a season-high 15 points, Foster scored 14 and Thomas Gipson added 10 for the Wildcats (9-7, 2-1 Big 12), who have rebounded after a sluggish start.
"It's a big-time win," Foster said. "Oklahoma's a very good team -- in my eyes, one of the best teams in the conference -- so this is a really big win for us, especially being away."
Buddy Hield scored a career-high 31 points for Oklahoma (11-4, 2-1). He made a layup with 28 seconds remaining in overtime to tie the score before Foster's shot. Thomas had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Spangler had nine points and nine rebounds for the Sooners, who were coming off back-to-back double-digit wins over ranked opponents Baylor and Texas.
Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said his team let its guard down.
"That's human nature," he said. "That's what we were talking about all week: Are we good enough, mature enough, to handle a couple good ball games and take care of business, and we weren't. Credit Kansas State for that."
Kansas State held Oklahoma to 40 percent shooting. Hield made 11 of 20 shots for the Sooners, but the rest of the team made just 12 of 37.
Foster's layup with 35 seconds to play snapped a scoreless run of more than 5 minutes for Kansas State and cut Oklahoma's lead to 55-53. Spangler missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 33 seconds left, leaving Kansas State in the game. Foster's floater with 6 seconds left forced overtime. Oklahoma could have won at the end of regulation, but Jordan Woodard's 3-pointer rattled out as time expired.
Hield scored 13 of Oklahoma's first 15 points and had 20 points at halftime, but his teammates were cold, and Kansas State led 31-30 at the break.
A jumper by Hurt put Kansas State up 39-34, and a 3-pointer by Justin Edwards pushed the Wildcats' lead to eight early in the second half.
Oklahoma inched back into the game as foul trouble ramped up for the Wildcats. A steal and dunk by Spangler gave the Sooners a 46-45 lead with just over 8 minutes to play and brought the crowd back into the game, and it was close the rest of the way.
TIP-INS
Kansas State: The Wildcats had 20 assists on 30 baskets. ... Kansas State made just three free throws, but two were critical ones in overtime. ... The Wildcats made 54 percent of their shots in the first half while Oklahoma shot just 33 percent.
Oklahoma: Kruger was Big 8 player of the year for Kansas State in 1973 and 1974 and later coached there. ... Oklahoma had just four assists. ... Woodard and Isaiah Cousins combined to shoot 2-for-15 from the field.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
Foster on his struggles before getting hot late in regulation: "I was struggling at that time, so I was just trying to concentrate on knowing that my next shot was going to go in."
STAR POWER
Hield made 5 of 9 3-pointers and had five rebounds and three steals. The preseason all-conference pick entered the game averaging 15.8 points per game.
"He was big time tonight," Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said.
UP NEXT
Kansas State: plays host to Texas Tech on Wednesday.
Oklahoma: at West Virginia on Tuesday.