Down 83-78 with 49 seconds to play, K-State staged a 6-0 rally to defeat Tulsa 84-83 Monday evening in Bramlage Coliseum.
The Wildcats (4-0) did it with—of all things—defense. After PJ Haggerty knocked down two free throws to get K-State within 3, Nate Johnson pressured a point-to-wing pass in front of the Golden Hurricane bench. The ball sailed out of bounds, and after a coach’s challenge, it was awarded to the Cats.
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Six seconds later, Haggerty made a jumper to pull K-State within one. But with 31 seconds to play, the Cats would have to either force a turnover or foul to preserve a chance. Solid backcourt pressure led to another errant pass, which Kamari McGriff snagged out of the air near the visitors’ free throw line. He dished to David Castillo, and when the defender did not commit to seal the lane, the newly confident sophomore drove for a layup to give the Cats an 84-83 lead with 18 seconds remaining.
After a Tulsa timeout Miles Barnstable, who had bedeviled K-State from outside throughout the second half, was forced to take an off-balance three-point attempt under pressure. CJ Jones could not corral the loose-ball rebound, and after another coach’s challenge review and reversal, Tulsa (3-1) was awarded an endline inbound play with 4.7 seconds remaining. David Green got a decent look about ten feet from the bucket outside the block, but McGriff bothered him just enough to force the miss. Ball batted to halfcourt…game over…deep breath.
Exciting stuff, sure. It did not have to be that way.
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The game featured 8 ties and 10 lead changes, but most of that parity occurred in the first 8 minutes of each half. The Wildcats broke a 13-13 tie on a David Castillo layup with 11:53 to play in the first period, eventually built a 37-27 advantage, and went to the break leading 39-34.
Tulsa scored the first five points of the second stanza to knot the score at 39, but K-State forged back in front, 64-58 on a three-point bucket by Castillo with 9:12 remaining. The Wildcats pushed the lead to 8 (70-62) on two Haggerty free throws with 7:25 to play.
The Hurricanes answered. Barnstable got loose for a three, then David Green hit one. A Tylen Riley layup narrowed the gap to 72-70 with 5:05 still remaining. The visitors took the lead at 2:36 on another Riley layup with 2:36 to go. Another Barnstable three gave Tulsa a 79-76 edge at the 2:04 mark.
McGriff pulled K-State within one with two free throws, but the defense yielded another layup, then fouled after Castillo’s three-point attempt rimmed out. The resulting free throws by Miles Rigsby made the score 83-78, setting up the dramatic ending.
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Haggerty continued making his case for All-American honors, scoring 29 points on 9-16 shooting. He made 11 of 12 free throw attempts and secured a double-double by pulling down 10 rebounds. His three assists pale a bit against five turnovers, but his ability to make tough shots and draw fouls was critical to the win.
McGriff just missed his own double-double, scoring 13 and collecting 9 boards.
Castillo could not replicate the otherworldly shooting performance of his past two games, going 4-10 (1-5 from deep) and scoring 12 points. His confident drive late, however, wound up being the decisive bucket. His improvement has been a wonder to behold.
Abdi Bashear added 10, giving the Cats four double-figure scorers.
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Tulsa had 15 second-chance points, but only 2 in the second half, as K-State actually outscored the Golden Hurricanes 17-15 in the category. K-State won the rebounding battle 40-38, though yielding 14 offensive rebounds is a weakness that must be addressed.
The Cats held the lead for nearly 30 minutes, but had to stage a furious rally to secure the victory.
Four Tulsa players reached double-figures, led by Barnstable, who poured in 18. David Green had 11, but he shot only 3-16 (2-9) from the floor.
Three in the Key
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Though the excitement should not have been necessary, let’s be honest: This roster is a lot of fun. PJ Haggerty is the engine, but multiple players can score, score quickly, and score in bunches. The Cats led the nation in 3-point shooting coming in. They probably won’t tomorrow morning, because they were 5-24 (20.8%) from deep in this one. That made the game tighter, but they still put up 84 points and found a way to win. When was the last K-State team that could score this efficiently from so many different positions?
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That being said…the law of diminishing returns will surely kick in soon. The defense simply has to improve. In spurts, the Cats have shown the ability to disrupt and create turnovers, leading to runouts for layups. When they are not doing that, they too often break down, losing track of shooters and yielding open paths to the rim. Tulsa shot 29 free throws tonight, making 21. The free throws were largely due to defensive breakdowns and lazy effort. It was almost enough to cost K-State the game.
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On the other hand…K-State shot 21 free throws, making 19. To be completely factual, Haggerty (11-12), McGriff (5-6) and Castillo (3-3) went 19-21. Nobody else went to the charity stripe. McGriff’s miss was his first of the season. The big guy has utilized great positioning and footwork to finish inside, and when he gets fouled, he exhausts nearly all of the allotted 10 seconds at the line, but he has been money. A big who hits free throws like McGriff is a tremendous luxury.
Next Up:
The schedule doesn’t get any easier, as K-State welcomes Mississippi State to Bramlage Thursday night. Double bad news, too: The game tips at 8:30 and airs on Peacock. Stay tuned for what may be a recap of the radio descriptions.
