Kansas State basketball's skid reaches four with 75-72 road loss to Oklahoma State
STILLWATER, Okla. — Kansas State basketball's slump continued Saturday as the Wildcats dropped their fourth straight game to fall below .500 in the Big 12 with a 75-72 loss to last-place Oklahoma State at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
The Wildcats, who fell to 14-8 overall and 4-5 in the Big 12, trailed by eight points with less than 3 1/2 minutes left, but had a chance to force overtime in the closing seconds as Cam Carter missed an open 3-pointer and Tylor Perry put up a desperation shot at the buzzer.
Oklahoma State (10-12, 2-7) used a 12-point run late in the first half to erase an eight-point deficit and lead 29-27 at intermission. K-State tied it briefly to start the second period, but a John-Michael Wright 3-pointer quickly put the Cowboys in front to stay.
For K-State, Perry finished with 19 points, all in the second half, and Carter had 17, with Arthur Kaluma adding 14 points and Will McNair 12 to go with nine rebounds. Javon Small scored 18 points and Quion Williams 17 with 10 rebounds for Oklahoma State.
K-State now has a short turnaround before playing host to Kansas at 8 p.m. Monday at Bramlage Coliseum.
Turnover woes continue for Wildcats
Nine first-half turnovers for Kansas State helped Oklahoma State rally to lead at intermission, and things didn't get better for the Wildcats in the second half, when several comeback attempts were derailed by untimely miscues.
Perhaps the costliest one came after the Wildcats cut the deficit to 64-58 with under five minutes left and then got a stop, only to commit their sixth turnover of the half.
That actually was the Wildcats' last turnover as they finished with 15.
A 3-point barrage to start the second half
After combining for six 3-pointers in the first half, K-State and Oklahoma State lit it up from beyond the arc to after the break. More accurately, K-State's Tylor Perry and OSU lit it up.
Perry, who did not score in the first half, kept K-State in it by knocking down four in the first 10 minutes of the period, but Oklahoma State had six as a team during that same stretch.
Perry finished with five 3-pointers, making 5 of 9 after the break, and one of those was a desperation shot at the buzzer. Oklahoma State cooled off the rest of the way, finishing with nine for the game, same as K-State.
Jerome Tang shakes up starting lineup
K-State coach Jerome Tang made two changes to the Wildcats' starting lineup for the game, benching big men Will McNair and David N'Guessan in favor of sophomore center Jerrell Colbert and freshman guard Dai Ames.
Tang said after the game that N'Guessan was held out early because of a knee injury that forced him to miss practice time.
Related: Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang takes blame for blowout loss: 'This is on me'
Related: No home cooking for Kansas State basketball in blowout loss to Oklahoma
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 drops fourth straight with 75-72 road loss
