Markquis Nowell recorded 22 points, eight assists and four steals to lead No. 14 Kansas State to a 73-68 victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon in Big 12 play at Stillwater, Okla.
Keyontae Johnson added 17 points as the Wildcats (22-7, 10-6 Big 12) won their third straight game. Desi Sills added 10 points for Kansas State.
Kalib Boone registered 18 points and four blocked shots for the Cowboys (16-13, 7-9), who lost their fourth consecutive game. Caleb Asberry scored 13 points, John-Michael Wright added 12 and Bryce Thompson had 11 for Oklahoma State.
Kansas State shot 49 percent from the field, including 8 of 21 from 3-point range.
The Cowboys made 41.1 percent of their attempts and were a lowly 5 of 23 from behind the arc.
Cam Carter made two free throws with 43.3 seconds to play and Nowell made two more with 22.3 seconds left as the Wildcats turned a three-point lead into a 73-66 cushion en route to improving to 4-6 on the road.
Earlier, Boone scored five straight points to give Oklahoma State a 44-40 lead with 14:39 left in the game.
A short time later, Thompson scored two baskets, sandwiched around Wright’s 3-pointer, to push the Cowboys’ lead to 53-45 with 12:08 remaining.
Kansas State answered with a 10-2 spurt, and Carter concluded it with a trey to knot the score at 55 with 9:17 to play.
The Wildcats moved ahead at 59-57 on David N’Guessan’s layup with 6:48 left.
Johnson and Ismael Massoud later hit 3-pointers to give Kansas State a 65-60 lead with 5:10 remaining.
Boone’s layup brought Oklahoma State within 65-63 with 3:50 to play but the Cowboys couldn’t overtake the Wildcats.
Oklahoma State used an 11-0 spurt late in the first half to hold a 35-33 halftime lead.
Nowell scored 13 points in the half, his last two being a layup to give the Wildcats a 29-24 edge with 4:37 remaining. Tyreek Smith, Asberry and Woody Newton all buried treys during the 11-0 burst that gave the Cowboys a six-point edge with 1:33 to go.
Sills responded with two free throws and a layup to pull Kansas State within two at the break.
The Wildcats scored seven straight early in the second half, taking a 40-39 lead on Nowell’s jumper.
–Field Level Media
