Texas A&M
7-3
Kansas State
7-4
Men's Basketball Battles But Falls to K-State, 71-64
Dec 20, 2014 | Men's Basketball
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas State used a strong inside game in the first half to defeat Texas A&M 71-64 in the Wildcat Classic at the Sprint Center on Saturday night.
The Wildcats (7-4) were led by Nino Williams with 17 points. Thomas Gipson added 14 points, and Marcus Foster and Wesley Iwundu had 10 each.
Texas A&M (7-3) was led by Kourtney Roberson and Danuel House with 13 points each. Jordan Green had 11 and Alex Caruso 10.
The Wildcats saw their seven-point halftime lead trimmed to five points before an 11-2 run allowed them to put the game on cruise control. A 6-0 run by Texas A&M with just over four minutes remaining cut the lead to 61-54. The Wildcats missed six straight free throws to see the lead reduced to four points a couple of times, but held off the Aggies down the stretch.
Kansas State went inside early and often. After an opening 3-point basket by Justin Edwards, the Wildcats' next nine field goals were inside the paint. It wasn't until 6:16 remained in the first half that the Wildcats scored again from beyond 5 feet. Foster's 3-pointer gave the Wildcats a 31-20 lead, the largest of the half.
Even the first six free throws during the opening run were generated by fouls on inside play. In all, 10 of Kansas State's 14 first-half field goals were in the paint. The Wildcats shot a sizzling 82 percent from the field in the first half.
Following Foster's bomb, the Aggies got back in the game with a quick 6-0 run. But the Wildcats responded with their own 6-0 run on a three-point play by Malek Harris and a 3-pointer from Iwundu.
The Aggies hit both of their shots from beyond the 3-point line and three others from just inside the arc in the first half.
TEAM RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
● Texas A&M fell to 7-3 on the season with the 71-64 loss to Kansas State at Sprint Center in Kansas City on Saturday … the Aggies are now 2-2 away from College Station this season.
● The Wildcats now lead the all-time series with the Aggies by the count of 18-7.
TEAM NOTES
● Statistically, Texas A&M held advantages in rebounding (25-24), points in the paint (40-34), points off turnovers (14-12), second chance points (9-4) and fast break points (9-6) … Kansas State, however, owned a better shooting percentage (61.5 percent to 49.0 percent).
● Texas A&M has shot better than 45 percent from the field in five consecutive games and in seven of 10 contests on the year.
● The Aggies committed only six turnovers in the game, their lowest output in a game this season.
● The Wildcats held a 39-32 lead at the intermission after shooting 82.4 percent during the first period (14-for-17) … A&M was 12-for-24 (50 percent) during the opening stanza.
● Texas A&M used the starting line-up combination of Alex Caruso, Jordan Green, Danuel House, Jalen Jones and Kourtney Roberson for the fourth time this season (3-2).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
● Senior Kourtney Roberson and junior Danuel House shared top-point honors for the Aggies, contributing 13 points apiece … Roberson was 6-of-7 from the field, while House made five of his eight shot attempts in 33 minutes on the court.
● Senior guard Jordan Green scored 11 points to reach double-digit scoring for the 14th time during his Aggie career … the Flower Mound, Texas, product was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line while adding three assists, two rebounds and a steal.
● Junior Alex Caruso dished out a game-high six assists, while chipping in 10 points and six rebounds in 33 minutes of action … additionally, Caruso notched three steals to move past Bernard King (152 steals from 1999-02) into seventh place on the program's all-time steal list with 153 for his three-year tenure in Aggieland.
● A&M head coach Billy Kennedy is now 57-52 in his fourth season at Texas A&M and 268-231 in 17 years as a head coach.
UP NEXT
● Following the holiday break, the Aggies return home to host Mercer on Tuesday, Dec. 30, in a 7 p.m. contest at Reed Arena ... The contest will be televised nationally on SEC Network.
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
