Kansas State basketball rallies for 70-66 victory over Oklahoma State
MANHATTAN — Kansas State basketball didn't have to work overtime, but work the Wildcats did.
After trailing by 10 points midway through the second half, the Wildcats kept chipping away and finally got over the hump for a 70-66 Big 12 victory over Oklahoma State.
The Wildcats took their first lead of the half, 61-60, on a Cam Carter 3-pointer with 3:30 left, and the best Oklahoma State could do the rest of the way was tie.
With the victory, K-State improved to 14-4 and remained tied for the Big 12 lead at 4-1. Oklahoma State fell to 8-10 and 0-4 in the league.
Arthur Kaluma had 23 points and seven rebounds to lead K-State, with Carter adding 15 points and Will McNair 10. Tylor Perry had nine points and five assists.
For Oklahoma State, Eric Dailey had 15 points, with Javon Small and John-Michael Wright adding 11 each.
Here are three takeaways from a harrowing comeback victory for K-State.
'Five to grind' prevails again for K-State
K-State prides itself on its "five to grind" philosophy to finish halves and games. They simulate late-game situations in practice every day and it paid off again against Oklahoma State.
The Wildcats trailed 60-54 at the five-minute mark, but outscored Oklahoma State, 16-6 the rest of the way.
Turnover woes return for the Wildcats
K-State coach Jerome Tang repeats it often, that his standing goals for the Wildcats is 11 or fewer turnovers a game. Maybe he needs to amend that to 11 in a half.
Against Oklahoma State, the Wildcats reached the magic 11 turnover mark with about five minutes left — in the first period. They finished the half with 12.
The only mitigating factor was that Oklahoma State also had 12 in the half. Both teams played a cleaner second half as the Cowboys finished with 18 turnovers and K-State with 17.
Arthur Kaluma keeps Wildcats in the game
Had it not been for Arthur Kaluma, K-State could have been dead in the water by halftime.
Kaluma, after going scoreless for the first 16-plus minutes, scored the Wildcats' last 11 points of the half, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut OSU's lead to 35-31 at the break.
Kaluma also had six of his 23 points in the last 4 1/2 minutes.
Related: Overtime once again brings out Kansas State basketball's best in victory over Baylor
Related: Kansas State women's basketball overcomes Ayoka Lee's absence to hold off Kansas
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State basketball rallies to top Oklahoma State, 70-66
