Big 12 Hoops Roundup

Associated Press

Kansas State 65, West Virginia 64

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Shane Southwell saw to it that No. 18 Kansas State’s winning streak would reach six games.

The junior made two free throws with 21 seconds left, then blocked Gary Browne’s layup attempt with 1 second to go to preserve the Wildcats’ 65-64 win over West Virginia on Saturday.

“We fought too hard for that game,” Southwell said. “We just needed to find a way to win.”

Southwell and Rodney McGruder both had 17 points for the Wildcats (13-2, 2-0 Big 12). For Southwell, it was a career high and marked only the second time in double figures over a stretch of a dozen games.

“He did a tremendous job of stepping up,” McGruder said.

Jabarie Hinds had a career-high 15 points for West Virginia, (8-7, 1-2). Aaric Murray added 11 points and Terry Henderson scored 10.

The lead changed hands six times over the final eight minutes. After Southwell’s free throws, West Virginia had two chances to retake the lead. But Hinds missed a wild jumper from 16 feet with 12 seconds left. The Mountaineers got the rebound and called timeout. Kansas State’s Angel Rodriguez knocked the inbounds pass into the backcourt. Browne grabbed the loose ball, dribbled the length of the court and attempted a layup, which Southwell swatted away just before the final buzzer.

It was only the 6-foot-6 Southwell’s third block of the season and his biggest so far.

“I know (Browne) likes to get a lot of body contact and everything, so I just gave him a little room,” Southwell said. “And once he tried to get the body contact, I stepped back and then I used my length on him.”

Kansas State coach Bruce Weber has been looking for such an effort from Southwell, who entered the game averaging 6.3 points.

“Shane is talented. I think anyone that’s watched him will have no doubt about that,” Weber said. He’s got very good skills. He’s got length. If we can get him to go a lot harder more consistently, and him be more consistent, he’s as talented as anyone we have in our program.”

West Virginia, coming off an overtime win at Texas, could have used a win over Kansas State to improve its standing for a postseason berth. Instead, the Mountaineers fell to 0-3 this season against ranked teams.

Iowa State 82, Texas 62

AMES, Iowa — Freshman Georges Niang scored a season-high 18 points, Will Clyburn added 16 and Iowa State rolled past Texas 82-62 Saturday in its Big 12 home opener.

Tyrus McGee had 15 points off the bench for the Cyclones (11-4, 1-1 Big 12), who bounced back from a heartbreaking loss at No. 6 Kansas by pounding the struggling Longhorns (8-8, 0-3).

Iowa State built an 11-point halftime lead and maintained a comfortable edge the rest of the way in beating Texas for just the second time in 11 tries.

Johnathan Holmes and Julien Lewis each had 15 points to lead the Longhorns.

Texas star Sheldon McClellan, the team’s leading scorer at 15.2 points per game, played just one scoreless minute.

Oklahoma 77, Oklahoma State 68

NORMAN, Okla. — Romero Osby scored 17 points, Amath M’Baye and freshman Buddy Hield added 15 apiece and Oklahoma beat Oklahoma State 77-68 Saturday in the Bedlam rivalry game.

M’Baye came up with seven straight points for the Sooners (11-3, 2-0 Big 12) late in the second half to put the game away after their 14-point lead had been nearly eliminated.

Oklahoma went 8 for 13 from 3-point range and defended its home court in the Bedlam rivalry for the ninth straight season. The Cowboys (11-3, 1-2) haven’t won in Norman since 2004, when they went on to win the Big 12 championship and reach the Final Four.

Markel Brown scored 19 points to lead Oklahoma State, which fell to 0-3 on the road this season. Star freshman Marcus Smart was limited by foul trouble and ended up with 10 points.

Kansas 60, Texas Tech 46

LUBBOCK, Texas — Bill Self saw an unenergetic No. 6 Kansas team in the first half and he let his players hear about it.

“That’s as miserable as an offensive team can play,” the Jayhawks coach said following their 60-46 win over Texas Tech on Saturday. “We had to decide whether or not we wanted to be here or not.”

Self also noticed that Texas Tech wasn’t guarding Kevin Young very tightly in the first half.

“In the second half he took advantage of that personally,” Self said. “He goes and scores eight straight points or whatever to start the second half off of being aggressive.”

He went on to score 14 points as the Jayhawks got their 13th straight win.

Jeff Withey and Travis Releford added 12 points each. Withey pulled down seven rebounds in the first Big 12 road game for Kansas. The Jayhawks (14-1, 2-0 Big 12) trailed briefly early. They started the second half with a 12-0 run and stretched their lead as the game wore on.

Jamal Williams scored 11 points to lead Texas Tech (8-6, 1-2) and Dejan Kravic added nine points and eight rebounds.

Kansas got the ball inside often and successfully, getting 28 points in the paint. They also took advantage of the Red Raiders’ 16 turnovers, converting them into 17 points.

After shooting just 28 percent in the first half, Kansas more than doubled that, hitting 14-of-23 shots.

Texas Tech interim coach Chris Walker said the Red Raiders showed they can stay close with top 10 teams.

“Obviously there are some things we’ve got to continue to work on,” he said. “Kansas is a team where you can’t make mistakes. They’ve got a lot of senior leadership and they just take their time and take advantage of every mistake.”

The Jayhawks have a quick turnaround, playing Baylor at home on Monday night.

“I don’t know how you guys feel, but we looked like a tired team,” Self said. “So we need to get our batteries recharged.”

Baylor 51, TCU 40

WACO, Texas — Cory Jefferson had 15 points, including consecutive baskets to start Baylor’s tiebreaking run, and the Bears beat TCU 51-40 Saturday night in the first meeting in more than 10 years between the instate rivals which are now Big 12 foes.

Jefferson’s floater with 15 minutes left broke a 28-all tie and put Baylor (11-4, 3-0 Big 12) ahead to stay.

After a TCU (9-7, 0-3) miss, Jefferson had a shot blocked by Adrick McKinney, but Baylor’s big forward got the ball right back and responded with a two-handed slam dunk.

By the time Rico Gathers tipped in a missed 3-pointer only 4 1/2 minutes later, Baylor had capped a 14-2 run to stretch the lead to 42-30.

Pierre Jackson, Baylor’s senior point guard, had 11 points and six assists. Isaiah Austin had 10 points and eight rebounds.

Charles Hill Jr. had 12 points to lead TCU.

 

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