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 "No, I think we won by one (point)," Smart, the head coach of No. 25
Texas, said when asked if his team escaped after his Longhorns held
on to defeat Kansas State 71-70 Monday at Bramlage Coliseum. "I know
Kansas State had a shot at the end. If the ball goes in they win.
"We've been on the other end of that too. I don't care if we win by
one or 100. We came up here to win. It certainly wasn't our best
game. Our guys battled. I thought our guys settled in and played
with a little more discipline. It was a good win to go on the road
and win."
Kansas State (15-13, 4-11 Big 12) had a chance to win after Texas
guard Javan Felix missed the front end of a one-and-one with 14
seconds left. But freshman forward Dean Wade's 3-point attempt
caromed off the front of the rim and the Longhorns grabbed the
rebound.
"It was a great shot," Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. "What
can you say? Dean's open and (we've) got them in a scramble. Next
time he'll make that shot. He'll probably make a bunch of them here
before his career is over."
Texas was up by as many as eight points in the second half, and led
59-52 with 8:16 left. The Wildcats chipped away at the lead, cutting
it to one point on three occasions. But they never could grab the
lead.
"It was another heart-breaker for our kids," Weber said. "They
battled. We kept coming back. (Texas) hadn't been making threes, and
they made threes."
Texas (18-10, 9-6 Big 12) was led by guard Isaiah Taylor with 19
points, including 13 in the second half. He was joined in double
figures by Felix with 13 points and guard Eric Davis with 10.
Kansas State was led by guard Justin Edwards with 20 points. He
added eight rebounds and five assists. Forward D.J. Johnson scored
16 points, and guard Wesley Iwundu had 12.
Texas gradually pulled away at the start of the second half,
assuming a 50-42 lead just outside the 12-minute mark. Each time the
Wildcats got close, the Longhorns responded.
"You have to give Kansas State credit," Smart said. "They made some
big plays on offense."
Finally, the Wildcats went on a 6-0 spurt to close to within 62-61
with 4:01 remaining. Texas got the next four points, but the
Wildcats answered with four points of their own.
Taylor worked the shot clock down to five seconds before draining a
3-pointer to put the Longhorns up 69-65.
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"I came off the stagger and Shaq (Shaquille Cleare) set a screen,"
Taylor said. "I really had no intention of using the screen. I told
him to move out of the way. I know when I have a one-on-one
opportunity a lot of teams load to the ball. When they load to the
ball they have to choose their poison. I just rose up and
fortunately it went in."
Iwundu drove for a layup to cut the lead to two points. Taylor
stepped to the line for a one-and-one and sank both with 31 seconds
remaining.
Wildcats guard Barry Brown then sank a contested 3-pointer to cut
the lead to 71-70 with 18 seconds left. Felix missed the front end
of the one-and-one before Wade missed on that last chance.
Once again, Kansas State fell behind a ranked team early, this time
slipping into a 14-7 hole. The Wildcats were fortunate that Edwards
came to play. Edwards scored 10 of Kansas State's first 12 points.
He was 4-for-5 from the field, including 2-for-2 from 3-point range.
The rest of the team began 1-for-7.
The Wildcats fought back. Edwards fed Johnson on back-to-back
possessions for easy layups, and the score was tied at 16-all.
Neither team led by more than four points the rest of the half.
Edwards and Johnson led Kansas State at the half with 12 points
each. Texas was led by Felix with 11 first-half points.
Both teams struggled from the field before the break. Texas was
11-for-26, including Felix's 5-for-7, and Kansas State was
12-for-28.
NOTES: Seven players have led Kansas State in scoring this season.
... G Isaiah Taylor leads the Longhorns in scoring (15.3 points per
game), assists (5.0 per game), steals (27) and minutes played. ...
Kansas State leads the all-time series against Texas 17-15, but the
Longhorns have won the past four meetings.
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