Overtime once again brings out Kansas State basketball's best in victory over Baylor

MANHATTAN — Kansas State basketball's streak was in serious jeopardy, and then something kicked in.

It was almost as if somebody reminded the Wildcats that it was overtime, and they simply don't lose in overtime. Not anywhere, but certainly not in front of a near-capacity crowd that was ready to tear the roof off Bramlage Coliseum.

"We prep for that environment," said K-State forward Arthur Kaluma, whose four-point play with 20.2 seconds left in the extra period helped the Wildcats rally from a five-point deficit in the final minute-plus to claim a 68-64 upset victory over No. 9-ranked Baylor. "Five to grind.

"We work on those situations a lot during practice, so once you get to overtime, you knew it was just another thing that we've done before and we just had to execute, and we know how to execute."

Related: More late-game heroics from Tylor Perry lift Kansas State basketball over Villanova in OT

Do they ever. The Wildcats scored the game's last nine points to pull it out.

The overtime victory was the Wildcats' fifth in as many chances this season, and they improved to 10-0 under second-year coach Jerome Tang.

"I think (Tang) is a really good coach, so he puts them in position to win," said Baylor coach Scott Drew, who now is a two-time overtime victim and 0-3 overall against his former longtime assistant. "And then I think the home games, that's why it's so hard to win on the road in the Big 12.

"The fans deserve a lot of credit for that, like when home teams win, but I credit (Tang). He's a good coach."

With victory, K-State bounced back from a heartbreaking 60-59 loss at Texas Tech on Saturday and improved to 13-4 overall, 3-1 in the Big 12. Baylor, which came in tied for the league lead with Tech, fell to 14-3, 3-1.

Things looked bleak for K-State in overtime after Baylor's RayJ Dennis converted a driving layup with 1:10 left to put the Bears up 64-59. But at the 1:01 mark, seldom-used freshman guard RJ Jones buried a 3-pointer from the left side to pull the Wildcats within two.

Following a K-State timeout, Baylor had two shots in the paint, with Dennis and Yves Missi both missing. Dorian Finister then misfired on a corner 3-pointer for the Wildcats, but David N'Guessan rebounded, and Jones found Kaluma at the top of the arc for the pivotal 3-pointer.

"It was a great offensive rebound by David, and he was able to kick it out to RJ, and RJ just hit one, so I thought he was going to shoot it," Kaluma said. "But I saw my man rotate over, so once I saw that I asked for the one more.

Related: Kansas State basketball plays with fire and survives in overtime against North Alabama

"And I noticed (Baylor's) Ja'Kobe Walter was feet inside the 3-point line and I had a clean look, so I decided to take it."

Not only did the shot go down, but Walter fouled, sending Kaluma to the floor. He got up and made the free throw, and a two-point deficit turned into a 66-64 advantage.

With around 10 seconds left, Langston love missed a corner three for Baylor and Tylor Perry rebounded. Perry knocked down two free throws with 6.9 seconds on the clock to seal it.

Related: Kansas State basketball guard Tylor Perry makes up for slow starts with late-game heroics

Like Kaluma, Tang credited the Wildcats' preparation for their success in overtime games.

Maturity. Some older guys' belief, and then we work on it every day," Tang said. "Every single day we work on five a day grind, and that’s what we call it.

"So, it's something that our guys really take pride in."

The Wildcats even finished the game with their leading scorer watching from the bench. Cam Carter, who matched Perry's 18 points, fouled out with 3:04 left in overtime, but not before hitting a big 3-pointer to keep his team in it.

In addition to Carter and Perry, who made up for a cold shooting night by hitting 11 of 12 free throws with seven rebound and four assists, K-State got a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds from Kaluma.

More importantly, the Wildcats came away with a bounce-back victory.

"It's definitely a good feeling to be able to come back home and regroup after that loss in Lubbock just speaks testament to our team," Perry said. "I'm glad to be on the winning side this time."

Related: 'They were tougher than us.' Kansas State basketball can't close out against Texas Tech

So was Tang.

"God is good and I’m so thankful that I get to do this at this place with these guys," he said. "I’m so proud of them. They could have easily let the Texas Tech loss beat us twice, but they were able to put it in a box and put it away and then focus on preparation and a one-game season."

The Wildcats complete their two-game homestand Saturday with a 6 p.m. game against Oklahoma State.

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 stuns No. 9 Baylor with overtime comeback