Nino’s 20 pts. lead Cats over Pokes

By Erik Stone

Nino Williams scored 20 points and Marcus Foster and Justin Edwards added 14 apiece as Kansas State started fast in both halves and was never seriously threatened as the Wildcats defeated Oklahoma State 63-53 Saturday before a sellout crowd on Legends Weekend at Bramlage Coliseum.

Never trailing at any point, K-State blasted off to a 6-0 lead in just over a minute to start the game with Foster, Williams and Wesley Iwundu accounting for the points. After the Cowboys closed to within 14-11 with 13:04 left in the first half, Kansas State used a 9-2 run in the next five minutes to lead 23-13 following a Williams jumper.

K-State would lead by as much as 14 points before settling for a 31-21 halftime advantage.
The beginning of the second half was basically similar to the start of the game except this time, the Cowboys scored a bucket before another six-point Wildcat barrage. The closest Oklahoma State came to making any kind of run was a 5-0 burst in a 1:10 span capped off by a three-point basket by Phil Forte to cut the Kansas State advantage to 37-30 with 15:55 remaining.

After that the Wildcats steadily pulled away with clutch baskets by Williams and Foster and then Edwards becoming more aggressive in attacking the basket coming up with some big shots. The Cowboys still had some faint hopes after a steal and layup by Tavarius Shine making the score 58-47 with 3:47 reamining but 18 seconds later Thomas Gipson answered that basket with a thunderous dunk that sent the K-State crowd into a frenzy and forced an OSU timeout.

The Wildcat defense also shined Saturday allowing the Cowboys only 19 rebounds and four on the Offensive glass. Forte led Oklahoma State with 22 points while Le’Bryan Nash after a relatively quiet first half added 13.
Kansas State (12-8, 5-2) will be back on the Bramlage hardwood Tuesday when they host former Wildcat coach Bob Huggins and West Virginia. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

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