BOX SCORE
By ANDREW SELIGMAN
AP Sports Writer
CHICAGO (AP) -- Jacob Pullen scored 19 points in a triumphant homecoming, and No. 5 Kansas State hung on to beat Loyola of Chicago 68-60 on Saturday.
The win was the fifth straight for the Wildcats (9-1), whose only loss was to No. 1 Duke.
In this one, they were out of sync in the first half and nearly blew a 14-point lead in the second -- barely topping a team that hasn't beaten a top-five opponent in 26 years.
It wasn't an easy day for Pullen, a senior from nearby Maywood, Ill. His mom works as a database manager at Loyola, and with a large group of family and friends watching, he shot just 5 of 17 in his only college appearance in Chicago.
Martavious Irving scored 12 points and Curtis Kelly added 10 for the Wildcats, who won despite being outrebounded 45-38.
Ben Averkamp scored 17 for Loyola (8-3), which last beat a top-five team with a one-point win over then-No. 4 Illinois on Dec. 22, 1984. The Ramblers nearly pulled this one out even though they were a miserable 20 of 64 from the field and 4 for 19 from 3-point range.
Loyola hung in when Kansas State looked as tough it was ready to pull away in the second half. Kansas State scored seven straight points capped by a 3-pointer from the right corner by Nick Russell that made it 44-32 just under seven minutes into the half, and it was 50-36 after Pullen nailed a jumper with 8:40 left.
The Wildcats couldn't put this one away, though.
They were leading 56-44 with about five minutes left when Loyola stormed back with nine straight points, a 3 by Averkamp starting that run and a jumper by McCammon with 3:47 remaining capping it. It stayed close right to the end.
Pullen, however, made it a six-point game when he hit the second of two free throws with 32 seconds left and buried two more with 10 to go, helping preserve the win for Kansas State.
Updated December 11, 2010
