K-State Falls Late to 25/25 Texas, 71-70

MANHATTAN, Kan. – A Kansas State comeback fell inches short as freshman Dean Wade missed a potential game-winning 3-point basket to give No. 25/25 Texas a 71-70 win on Monday night before a crowd of 11,629 at Bramlage Coliseum.

Down by as many as eight points in the second half, the Wildcats (15-13, 4-11 Big 12) slowly chipped away at the deficit, closing to one point on three occasions, including 71-70 after a 3-pointer by freshman Barry Brown with 20 seconds left. Texas senior Javan Felix missed the front-end of a 1-and-1 with 14 seconds to set up the last play.

The loss spoiled a stellar all-around performance from senior Justin Edwards, who led the Wildcats in three categories, including a career-best 20 points on 8-of-16 field goals to go with 8 rebounds and 5 assists. He has now scored in double figures in a team-leading 22 games, including six consecutive games.

Junior D.J. Johnson continued his impressive play with 16 points on 6-of-9 field goals to go with 6 rebounds and a career-tying 3 blocks, while junior Wesley Iwundu chipped in 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Johnson has now registered double figures five times in the last six games, all in a starting role.

Texas (18-10, 9-6 Big 12) was led by junior Isaiah Taylor’s 19 points, who scored the Longhorns’ final 5 points, including a critical 3-pointer with 43 seconds. Felix scored 13 points on 6-of-11 field goals, while freshman reserve Eric Davis, Jr. added 10 points for a Texas bench that held a 28-8 advantage.

In an unusual twist, neither team recorded a steal in the contest. It marked just the sixth time in school history that the Wildcats went without a steal since it became a statistic in 1979-80 and the first time since 2013.

The Longhorns swept the season series for the second consecutive series after a 60-57 win at home on Jan. 5.

The Basics

Final Score: 25/25 Texas 71, Kansas State 70
Records: Kansas State 15-12, 4-10 Big 12 // 25/25 Texas 17-10, 8-6 Big 12
Attendance: 11,629
Next Game: Saturday, Feb. 27 // vs. 17/17 Iowa State // 5 p.m. CT // ESPN2

The Short Story

Kansas State’s comeback effort fell just short as freshman Dean Wade’s game-winning 3-pointer fell just short in a 71-70 loss to Texas in Bramlage Coliseum on Monday night.
Down as many as 8 points in the second half, the Wildcats cut the lead to one point on three occasions, including 71-70 after a 3-pointer by freshman Barry Brown with 20 seconds.
A missed free throw on a 1-and-1 by senior Javan Felix gave K-State one last chance with 14 seconds.
The loss spoiled impressive performance by senior Justin Edwards, who led the Wildcats with a career-high 20 points to go with team-highs in rebounds (8) and assists (5).
Juniors D.J. Johnson and Wesley Iwundu also scored in double figures with 16 and 12 points, respectively.
Texas was led by junior Isaiah Taylor’s team-high 19 points on 5-of-8 field goals and 8-of-8 free throws.
The Longhorns have now swept the season series in consecutive seasons.

How It Happened | First Half

Texas took an early 2-0 lead just 28 seconds into the half after two free throws from Connor Lammert.
Edwards rattled off seven straight points for the Wildcats to close the gap before the second media timeout, 14-12. The senior scored 10 of the Wildcats’ first 12 points.
The game met its first deadlock at 16-all after an emphatic Johnson slam with 10:42 left in the first half, but the Longhorns crept back in front by the under-8 media, 20-18.
Neither team would record a field goal make for more than three minutes as the teams exchanged free throw makes for 12 consecutive points.
Iwundu helped K-State earn its first lead, 29-27, with 3:49 to play with an old-fashioned three-point play and the Wildcats stretched it to 33-30, at the 2:06 mark.
The Longhorns answered a Carlbe Ervin II layup with 9 seconds left with a 3-pointer from Kendal Yancy just three seconds before the break to take a 38-35 advantage into the locker room.
K-State shot 42.9 percent (12-of-28), including 69.2 percent (9-of-13) from the line, while Texas was 42.3 percent (11-of-26) from the field and 85.7 percent (12-of-14) from the stripe.
Edwards and Johnson led the Wildcats with 12 points apiece in the first half.
K-State dominated Texas in the paint, outscoring the Longhorns 18-8.

How It Happened | Second Half

After pulling within two, 42-40, the Longhorns scored five points, including a 3-point basket by big man Lammert to take a 47-40 lead into the first media timeout.
Texas created its largest lead of the game after freshman Kerwin Roach, Jr. hit a 3-pointer to put the Longhorns up 50-42 with 13:16 to play in the game.
An Iwundu free throw cut the margin to one, 62-61 with 4:01 to play, but the Longhorns were able to push the lead back to five, 66-61, with 2:39 remaining.
A Brown 3-pointer cut the lead to 71-70 with 20 ticks left before Felix missed the front-end of a 1-and-1 to give K-State a last chance opportunity.
That final chance fell to Wade, whose 3-point attempt grazed the front of the iron to preserve the 71-70 win for Texas.
After being held scoreless in the first half, Wade posted 9 points to lead all Wildcat scorers in the second half with Edwards scoring 8 and Iwundu adding 7.
Taylor went a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe to lead the Longhorns with 13 points in the half.

Beyond the Boxscore

11 of K-State’s 13 losses have come to Top 25 opponents, including 10 in league play… The 12 games against ranked opponents tie 2 other teams (2010-11 and 2014-15) for the most in school history.
K-State still leads the series with Texas, 17-15, including 9-5 in Manhattan… The Longhorns take the season series for the second consecutive season with the 4-game winning streak the longest in the series.
Neither team recorded a steal in the contest, as K-State was held without a steal for the sixth time overall in school history and the first time since at Texas Tech (2/5/2013).
Edwards led the team in scoring for the team-leading 10^th time with 20 points on 8-of-16 field goals, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range… It was his first career 20-point game at K-State and his team-leading 22^nd double figure scoring game… He posted a team-highs in both rebounds (8) and assists (5).
Johnson scored in double figures for the 9^th time this season with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field… He also pulled down 6 rebounds and led the team with a career-tying 3 blocks.
Iwundu scored 12 points off of 4-of-9 shooting from the field and pulled down 6 rebounds and dished out 3 assists… It marked his 20^th double-figure scoring game of the season.

Quotable

“It was a great shot,” said head coach Bruce Weber. “I mean what do you say? No timeouts, Barry [Brown] made a great pass. Dean [Wade] is open, you have got them in a scramble. We had called a high ball screen and read it. Next time, [Dean] will make that shot, and he will make a bunch of them before his career is over.”

Up Next

K-State finishes the regular season with 2 of its last 3 games on the road, beginning Saturday at 17/17 Iowa State (19-9, 8-7 Big 12) at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN2. The Cyclones won the first meeting, 76-63, in Manhattan on Jan. 16.