The Sports Xchange
Nov 29, 2017
Kansas State held off a pesky Oral Roberts squad to claim a 77-68 victory Wednesday night at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan.
Dean Wade led Kansas State (6-1) with a career-high 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting. His previous career high was 20 points, which he achieved four times last year. Wade also pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. Kamau Stokes added 12 points for the Wildcats.
Sam Kearns paced Oral Roberts (1-7) with 21 points. Javan White added 14 and Albert Owens had 13.
Kansas State had trouble shaking Oral Roberts, as the Golden Eagles cut the lead to 52-47 with 13:13 remaining. A 6-0 run helped the Wildcats resume control, but Oral Roberts came right back. The Wildcats kept at least a five-point lead the rest of the game but never stretched it to more than 11 points.
The Wildcats, who were firing successfully from all around the arc in the first half, missed all six of their 3-point attempts in the second half.
Kansas State used a 17-2 run midway through the first half to open up a 14-point lead. The Golden Eagles missed eight straight shots during the Wildcats' run. Oral Roberts later had its own 8-0 spurt to cut the deficit to just five points. The Wildcats gradually pulled away and held a 42-34 advantage at the half.
Kansas State was aggressive from 3-point range in the first half, chucking up 20 attempts and connecting on eight of them. Sixty percent of the Wildcats' shots were from beyond the arc. Six different Wildcats had at least one made 3-pointer before the break.
Kansas State was led by Wade with 10 first-half points and six rebounds. Stokes added nine points for the Wildcats before halftime. Kearns led Oral Roberts with 14 first-half points, while White had eight points and Owens had six.