Kansas State scored 28 unanswered points during a late third quarter – fourth quarter run to defeat the West Virginia Mountaineers 35-12 in Manhattan Saturday.

The Wildcats trailed 12-7 until Wildcat quarterback Daniel Sams connected on a nine yard touchdown pass with Tyler Lockett with 2:16 remaining in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter the Wildcats would score on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Jake Waters to Tremaine Thompson, 24-yard pass from Waters to Lockett , and on a 4-yard touchdown run by John Hubert. The latter score came with just :21 seconds remaining in the game.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Wildcats and was their first victory of the season in Big 12 play.

Afterwards Bill Snyder was asked what kind of mental boost was it for the Wildcats to get that first Big 12 win. “Well I just watched their response in the locker room. They were excited, happy, and spirited about it. ”

Quarterbacks Daniel Sams and Jake Waters combined to complete 18 of 21 passes and throw four touchdown passes.

Safety Ty Zimmerman led the Wildcats with 12 tackles. He stripped the ball from a

West Virginia receiver on one play, which led to a Mountaineer turnover. “It was just a quarterback scramble. I was in coverage and the guy kind of got in my way. The quarterback cut back and I saw the ball loose and tried to get it out. ”

The Wildcats ( 3-4, 1-3  Big 12 ) host Iowa State next Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled at 2:30 p.m.