MANHATTAN, Kan. (KSNT) – No. 2 Kansas men’s basketball traveled to No. 13 K-State Tuesday in one of the highest-anticipated Sunflower Showdowns in recent memory.
The game was as-advertised and came down to the wire, but K-State was able to sneak by at the end, coming out with a 83-82 win in overtime.
Kansas was first on the scoreboard with a K.J. Adams jumper, followed by a Nae’Qwon Tomlin layup for K-State. With 17 minutes left in the first half, K-State took a 7-6 lead – a lead the Wildcats would hold on to until the second half.
K-State went on a 12-0 run over three minutes of game time to jump out to a 16-6 lead. The Wildcats would hold as big as a 14-point lead at 33-19.
The Jayhawks claimed momentum through the rest of the period, dwindling the K-State lead to just two points with a minute to go in the half. A last-second Keyontae Johnson jump shot gave K-State a 44-39 lead at the break.
The second half started as a defensive battle, as it took over three minutes for both teams to score. K-State got out to a 51-42 lead at the first media timeout.
Out of the timeout, KU went on a 9-3 run to cut the deficit to 54-51. With eight minutes to go, two Jalen Wilson free throws gave the Jayhawks a 58-57 lead – the team’s first lead since early in the first half.
From there, it was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team holding more than a four-point lead over the next few minutes. At the final media timeout, with less than four minutes to play, the Wildcats held a 67-65 advantage.
The game came down to the very end, as the two teams were tied at 72-72 with less than a minute to play. Markquis Nowell had a wide-open three-pointer with 30 seconds remaining, but he missed the shot. Kansas had 23 seconds to make a game-winner with a tie game.
The Jayhawks turned the ball over with seconds to go. Keyontae Johnson drove down the floor, but missed a potential game-winner as the game went to overtime.
Overtime was as close, with neither team holding more than a two-point advantage. Kansas held an 82-81 lead with 30 seconds remaining. K-State scored off an alley-oop to Keyontae Johnson to take an 83-82 lead with 11 seconds to go.
Out of a timeout, Kansas turned the ball over as time expired, giving K-State the 83-82 victory.
Jalen Wilson starred for the Jayhawks with a 38-point game to go with 9 rebounds. K.J. Adams added 17 points, Gradey Dick 16 points and Dajuan Harris Jr. 11 assists.
Keyontae Johnson led K-State starters in scoring with 24, while Desi Sills scored a season-high 24 points off the bench. Star point guard Markquis Nowell was limited to just 4 points.
The Jayhawks move to 16-2, 5-1 in conference play with the loss. Kansas is back home against No. 14 TCU on Saturday with a noon tipoff.
The Wildcats move to 16-2, 5-1 in conference play with the win. K-State stays at home with a 1 p.m. matchup with Texas Tech.
