Kansas State beats Idaho State 83-57
Pepperdine beats Western Oregon,
77-67
Sunday, January 4, 2009 12:00 AM PST
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| Orlin Wagner | Associated Press
Idaho State forward Felix Caspari (32) and Kansas State forward Dominique Sutton (23) battle for a rebound during the first half of their NCAA college basketball game in Manhattan, Kan., Saturday. |
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Leading scorers and starting lineups for the Kansas State basketball team have been about as inconsistent as the state’s weather, but the Wildcats’ defense is another matter.
Kansas State’s defense again came up big on Saturday in an 83-57 win over Idaho State.
‘‘Our plan going into the game was to limit our turnovers and limit their offensive rebounds,’’ said Idaho State guard Matt Stucki, who led the Bengals (4-11) with 13 points. ‘‘We didn’t do a very good job at either of those. They just did what they do good.’’
Jamar Samuels scored a game-high 15 points and was one of five Wildcats to finish in double-figures.
Jacob Pullen had 12 points — including 10 in the first half — while Justin Werner and Buchi Awaji both had career-highs with 11 apiece.
Dominique Sutton added 10 points and eight steals, tying a school record set by Lynn Smith in 1986.
Idaho State’s Phyllip Taylor scored a career-high 10 points, all in the second half. Coming into the game, he had scored 13 points total in 12 games.
‘‘I thought Phyllip Taylor answered the bell and took advantage of his opportunity today,’’ said Idaho State head coach Joe O’Brien. ‘‘That’s good to know because there’s some players that I’m not sure are on the same page as the rest of us.’’
The Bengals scored first on a layup by Stucki, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Pullen gave the Wildcats the lead for good. After falling behind 25-13, Idaho State narrowed the gap to eight, but the Wildcats held the Bengals to just five points in the final 9:30.
Kansas State closed out the half on an 8-1 run and took a 40-22 lead into the locker room.
‘‘I think (our defense) has been consistently good for a while,’’ said Kansas State head coach Frank Martin. ‘‘It starts with the guy guarding the ball. That’s where Denis Clemente has been so good for us this year.’’
Clemente, who had started in all of Kansas State’s games this season, has been battling the flu and was scratched from the lineup before tipoff.
Stucki opened the second half with a pair of free throws, but Kansas State responded with a 9-1 run to push its lead to 49-25. The Bengals got within 18 on a 9-3 run midway through the half, but a pair of free throws by Pullen ended that comeback attempt.
Werner, who had scored just six points this season, connected on three straight 3-pointers and scored all of his points in the game’s final five minutes.
Pepperdine 77
Western Oregon 67
MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — Mychel Thompson scored 21 points and Dane Suttle added 16 to help Pepperdine hold off Western Oregon, 77-67 on Saturday afternoon.
The Wolves pulled as close as 68-65 when Travis Kuhns made two free throws with 2:50 left, but Thompson scored five straight points on a jumper and 3-pointer to extend Pepperdine’s lead.
Taylor Darby finished with a career-high 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for Pepperdine (3-13).
The Waves, who led by as many as 15 in the second half, had a season-high 19 assists and season-low nine turnovers.
Blair Wheadon had 16 points and Matt Schmidt and Travis Kuhns each had 11 for the Division II Wolves (6-4).
The Waves overcame a shaky start against Western Oregon to take a 41-35 halftime lead.
