Williams nets 20, but No. 19 Texas Tech unable to make key plays in loss to Kansas State
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Mark Adams knew his team would have some tired legs.
The first-year Texas Tech coach has been on the sideline as he's watched his players compete in five Big 12 Conference games over the past 10 days.
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The No. 19 Red Raiders responded to the adversity, though, claiming a pair of wins over ranked teams but were unable to cap it off on a positive note.
Bryson Williams scored 20 points, the only player to eclipse the double-figure mark, as Texas Tech could not make plays as it suffered a 62-51 to Kansas State inside sparsely-filled Bramlage Coliseum.
"I mean, guys were definitely fatigued," said Williams, who scored 11 points in the second half to keep his team within striking distance. "We played a lot of games in a short stretch.
"But this is a team that doesn't look for excuses. We just come out and know that every time we step out on the floor it's going to be a dogfight. This is the Big 12, the best conference in America. So, we know that anybody we step on the floor with we're gonna have to come and bring it."
With the loss, the Red Raiders (13-4, 3-2) had a three-game winning streak snapped while the Wildcats (9-7, 1-4). who lost three of their first four Big 12 games by three points or less, ended a four-game losing skid.
"Five games in 10 days is tough, but we recognized it, we talked about it," said Adams, whose squad also played four games in seven days. "We've just gotta play better, I've gotta coach better. I thought we did a very poor job late in some of the decisions we made.
"We had to go really small-ball, which is something we really don't like to do. ... This is a good basketball team (Kansas State). They're going to win a lot of home games. We were just hoping that we could sneak out of here with a win. It just didn't happen."
Terrence Shannon, Jr., who entered the contest at the 17:39 mark of the first half, logged his first appearance in conference play and made a play late in the contest.
The 6-foot-6 wing drove from the right-wing before using his left hand to float the ball into the basket and close the Red Raiders deficit to 50-49 with 4:40 left in the contest.
"It's my fault, I put TJ in a position where he shouldn't have been in — playing that many minutes in this type of pressure game where he's only worked out a couple of days," Adams said of Shannon. "But at least we got him back playing and get him some minutes. So, that's going to help him as we move forward."
Key plays down the stretch proved to be the difference with Kansas State clinging onto a 50-49 lead with 4:50 left in the contest.
Kevin McCullar, who was driving the baseline, had the ball deflected by Markquis Nowell before the Wildcats knocked in a clutch three-pointer a few moments later.
Nowell nabbed an offensive rebound, after the Red Raiders appeared to get a defensive stop, before finding teammate Mark Smith who knocked down the triple for the four-point lead (53-49) with 3:28 left.
“Every game has been flip flop where we will jump out or they will jump out and they will come back or we will come back," Kansas State's Nijel Pack, who finished with a team-best 14 points to go with seven rebounds. "We knew teams were gonna make runs, but it's how we responded to the runs and I think we responded really well today. We were able to take their best punch and give them one of our own. And we even made a run late and that's what got us over the top.”
TTU could not find the scoring as it dropped its third road game of the year, which was a grind from the start.
"We just bought in on the defensive end. We know that defense wins games," Williams said of what was learned during the five-game stretch that included wins of Baylor and Kansas. "We just had some lapses defensively against this game here at K-State. And they took advantage and won. We dropped a game that we shoulda had.
"Just gotta get back to the drawing board and get back to work. Looking forward to this next game against Iowa State."
Kansas State started off strong — as it had done in its previous three contests — but was unable to sustain its hold on the contest following a 7-0 run that provided an 11-3 advantage under the 12-minute mark of the first half.
Then the Red Raiders, which turned the ball over 18 times, showed their gumption.
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Davion Warren, who earned a spot at the free-throw line with a layup attempt, split a pair of free throws before Bryson Williams scored seven points as part of a 12-2 run to provide Texas Tech a 15-13 lead at the under-8 timeout.
The Red Raiders built up the lead to as many as eight points — twice — before the Wildcats' young roster showed some spirit in the final two minutes of the first stanza.
Texas Tech's sloppy play from the first several minutes returned in the final two as Kansas State took advantage and forged an 8-2 run — fueled by three-pointers from Mike McGuirl and Ishmel Massoud to head into the locker room down 28-26.
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The Wildcats didn't make things easy in the second half as they won 50-50 balls, nabbed offensive rebounds and held the Red Raiders scoreless for the final 4:50 on the way to claiming their seventh win at home.
Smith finished with 12 and McGuirl ended the contest with 10 points to round out the double-digit performances for K-State.
"Number one, we've been there before," said Kansas State associate head coach Chris Lowery, who filled during the postgame media session for Bruce Weber, who had practically lost his voice during the game. "We've been there so many times and I've been on them about you either dig a hole or draw a line, and we really draw that line and hold the other team on the other side of that line.
"Too many times we've dug a hole for ourselves and fallen in and can't get out of it, and today was the day that we actually stayed on the right side of the ledger with a win. You've got to overcome stuff like this if you're going to grow as a team."
What's next?
No. 19 Texas Tech is scheduled to host a two-game homestand, starting with an 8 p.m. Tuesday matchup against No. 15 Iowa State (14-3, 2-3) set to be broadcast on ESPNU. The Cyclones defeated No. 21 Texas 79-70 on Saturday.
Kansas State is slated to face off against No. 21 Texas (13-4, 3-2) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Austin.
KANSAS STATE 62, NO. 19 TEXAS TECH 51
TEXAS TECH (13-4, 3-2)
Obanor 2-6 2-2 6, Williams 9-15 0-0 20, Arms 1-5 0-0 2, McCullar 3-9 0-0 6, Warren 2-5 3-6 9, Nadolny 1-3 4-4 6, Shannon 1-3 0-0 2, Santos-Silva 0-2 0-0 0, Batcho 0-0 0-0 0, Wilson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-48 9-12 51.
KANSAS ST. (9-7, 1-4)
Bradford 1-1 0-0 2, Miguel 3-10 0-0 6, Nowell 2-8 2-2 7, Pack 5-14 2-2 14, Smith 5-8 0-1 12, Massoud 2-5 0-0 5, McGuirl 4-5 0-0 10, Ezeagu 1-3 1-2 3, Kasubke 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 24-56 5-7 62.
Halftime_Texas Tech 28-26. 3-Point Goals_Texas Tech 4-17 (Warren 2-3, Williams 2-5, Shannon 0-1, Nadolny 0-2, Arms 0-3, Obanor 0-3), Kansas St. 9-26 (McGuirl 2-3, Smith 2-4, Pack 2-9, Kasubke 1-1, Massoud 1-3, Nowell 1-4, Miguel 0-2). Rebounds_Texas Tech 27 (Arms 7), Kansas St. 28 (Pack 7). Assists_Texas Tech 7 (McCullar 3), Kansas St. 16 (Nowell 9). Total Fouls_Texas Tech 10, Kansas St. 12. A_5,971 (12,528).
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Bryson Williams nets 20, but No. 19 Texas Tech unable to make key plays in loss to Kansas State
