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STILLWATER, Okla. – Kansas State had two chances to tie the game with 12 seconds left, including senior Tylor Perry’s 3-point attempt with 1.5 seconds, as Oklahoma State held off a late Wildcat rally to post a 75-72 win on Saturday afternoon before a crowd of 7,623 fans at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

K-State (14-8, 4-5 Big 12) nearly rallied from an 8-point deficit with just over 3 minutes to play in the closing minutes before neither last-second chance shot would fall. Perry, who scored all 19 of his game-high points in the second half, led four Wildcats in double figures, including 5 3-pointers, while junior Cam Carter added 17 points to go with team-highs in assists (5) and steals (3).

Oklahoma State (10-12, 2-7 Big 12), which missed just 4 free throws all afternoon, nearly gave K-State the opening it would need to tie the game, as the Cowboys made just 3 of their last 6 free throws in the last 90 seconds. After sophomore Quion Williams went 1-of-2 from the line, senior Will McNair connected on a layup to close the deficit to 73-70 with 1:01 to play. After junior Javon Small went 1-of-2 from the line, Perry’s driving layup with 15 seconds closed the gap to 74-72.

Following freshman Jamyron Keller’s 1-of-2 effort from line and a timeout by OSU head coach Mike Boynton Jr., the Wildcats had two cracks to tie it with 12 seconds left, as Carter’s 3-pointer missed with 5 seconds left followed by Perry’s attempt with 1.5 seconds left.

The loss was the fourth in a row for K-State, which is the longest of head coach Jerome Tang’s tenure.

The game seemed to flip at halftime from one of poor shooting to one of great shooting, as the teams combined to score 56 points in the first half on 33.9 percent shooting, while they combined for 91 points in the second half on 57.6 percent shooting.

During this flip, it was Oklahoma State which took control of the game with a strong start to the second half as the Cowboys got hot from 3-point range to score 18 of the first 29 points to push ahead 47-38 with 14:20 to play. The Wildcats cut the deficit to 59-55 on a McNair layup with 6:23 to play, but the Cowboys responded with 5 of the next 14 points to go up 68-60 with 3:18 to play.

Head coach Jerome Tang shook up the starting up for the first time in Big 12 play, inserting freshman Dai Dai Ames and redshirt sophomore Jerrell Colbert into the lineup hoping to jumpstart a K-State offense that has struggled in the first half the last 3 games. The lineup shift seemed to work, as the Wildcats led for nearly the first 17 minutes, including 19-11 at 10:02 mark, before the Cowboys used a 12-0 run to take a 29-27 lead into the halftime break.

K-State lost for the fourth this season when shooting better than its opponent, as the Wildcats finished the game at 46.8 percent (29-of-52) from the field, including 37.5 percent (9-of-24) from 3-point range. After hitting on 36.7 percent (11-of-30) in the first half, they made 56.3 percent (18-of-32) after halftime, including 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from long range. The Wildcats won the rebounding battle for the first time in 6 games by a margin of 36-31, which included 12 offensive rebounds that they converted into a 20-11 advantage in second-chance points.

Perry and Carter were joined in double figures by junior Arthur Kaluma (14 points) and McNair (12 points). McNair had a near double-double with a team-high 9 rebounds. It marked the first time this season that K-State lost when McNair registered double figures.

Oklahoma State finished the afternoon at 44.1 percent (25-of-59) from the field, including 34.6 percent (9-of-26) from 3-point range, and made 14 of 18 attempts (77.8 percent) from the line. After shooting just 31.3 percent (10-of-32) in the first half, the squad connected on nearly 60 percent (59.3) in the second half, including 50 percent (6-of-12) from long range.

Five Cowboys scored in double figures, including 18 points from Small and 17 points from Williams. Williams added a double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds, while Small had a game-high 7 assists. Freshman Jamyron Keller posted 12 points and 3 assists from the bench, while fellow freshman Brandon Garrison and fifth-year senior John-Michael Wright each added 10 points.

OSU played without senior and leading scorer Bryce Thompson, who was hurt in the loss to No. 8/9 Kansas on Tuesday.

The win allowed the Cowboys to snap a 3-game losing streak to the Wildcats and even the season series at 1-each after the 70-66 win by K-State at home on Jan. 20. The Wildcats still hold an 86-59 lead in the all-time series, but the Cowboys are now 24-20 in the Big 12 era.

HOW IT HAPPENED

K-State got off to the start the team has been lacking the last few games, as senior Tylor Perry hit an open junior Cam Carter in the corner for a 3-pointer and the first lead since the last meeting with Oklahoma State on Jan. 20. The 3-pointer was the start of a 9-4 run by the Wildcats to open the game before the first media timeout at the 14:48 mark. Four different players (Carter, Jerrell Colbert, Will McNair Jr. and Arthur Kaluma) scored in the opening spurt.

Redshirt freshman Dorian Finister knocked down just his second 3-pointer of the season on the next possession for a 12-4 lead, but OSU responded with 5 straight points to cut the deficit to 12-9. A layup by McNair sparked a run of 7 of the next 9 points and pushed the K-State lead to 19-11 to force a timeout by head coach Mike Boynton Jr., with 10:01 left before halftime.

The Cowboys responded to the timeout with 6 of the next 9 points to close the deficit to 22-17 at the third media timeout at the 7:39 mark. Carter scored a layup out of the timeout to push the lead to 24-17, but it would be the last field goal for nearly 6 minutes as OSU used a 12-0 run to take a 29-24 lead and forced head coach Jerome Tang to take a timeout with 1:55 to play.

Kaluma ended the field goal drought with a 3-point play with 42.3 seconds left to cut the deficit to 29-27 at the half. Neither team shot the ball well in the first half, as K-State hit on 36.7 percent (11-of-30) from the field compared to 31.3 percent (10-of-32) for OSU. Carter led all scorers with 10 points.

The Cowboys had the hot hand out of the halftime break as they scored 15 of the first 24 points to push ahead 44-38 at the first media timeout with 15:00 to play. Nine of the 15 points came from the 3-point line as they equaled their entire total from the first half in the first 5 minutes.

The 3-point barrage continued as OSU’s lead grew to 9 points (50-41) after back-to-back 3-pointers near the 13-minute mark. K-State was able to cut it to 50-44 at the media timeout on consecutive 3-pointers by Perry. However, the Cowboys got a ninth triple out of the timeout to push it back out to 9 points.

K-State got to within 59-55 on a second-chance layup by McNair, but OSU responded with 5 in a row to push the lead back out to 9 points (64-55) with 5 minutes to play. A layup by senior David N’Guessan and consecutive baskets from Kaluma got the Wildcats to within 68-64 with 2:45 left, but the Cowboys were able to keep the lead at 4 points after a jumper and a pair of free throws by junior Javon Small after Tang took his last timeout with 1:26 remaining.

OSU gave K-State one last opening, as the Cowboys made just 2 of 4 free throws down the stretch while the Wildcats got jumpers from McNair and Perry to close to within 74-72 with 15 seconds left. After another 1-of-2 performance from the line, both Carter and Perry each had 3-pointers hit off the rim on the final possession as the home team held on for the 75-72 victory.

HEAD COACH JEROME TANG

On the game…

“Congratulations to Oklahoma State. They did a very good at protecting their house. I’m just disappointed that we didn’t do what it took to be able to pull out the victory.”

On the defensive struggles in the second half…

“They did a good job of moving the basketball and their players made plays.”

On Oklahoma State’s offensive success…

“I think they make the second-most 3-pointers in our league and both (Javon) Small and (John-Michael) Wright are good shooters. Then they have some other guys who stepped up and made shots. If you are gonna win a game in this league, you got to have guys step up and make shots.”

On game-planning know they were playing without Bryce Thompson…

“It was a little bit of a challenge, but we also changed up our lineup too, which I’m sure they weren’t expecting. I thought we started the game alright because we hadn’t been starting games off very well the last few games, so that was a plus for us. We just didn’t close the half out very well. They came out strong to start the second half and we didn’t do a very good job of guarding anyone in the second half.”

On David N’Guessan not starting or playing in the first half…

“David’s knee was bothering him. We held him out of practice (the last few days) and we actually hoped not to play him. He’s in a lot of pain every time he jumps. He kept bugging coach Marco (Borne) to get in, so allowed him to play some in the second half.”

On the frustration of losing 4 in a row…

“Losing is not fun, right? Anytime you lose. It doesn’t matter if it’s once or 4 in a row. This is our movie. We choose to be the victims or the stars. We’re gonna be the ones to determine how it turns out, not somebody else or obstacles that are in our way. Die Hard wouldn’t be a great movie if Bruce Willis had gotten killed first thing, right? We’re gonna choose not to be the victim.”

TEAM NOTES

• K-State (14-8, 4-5 Big 12) lost its fourth straight game with a 75-72 defeat at Oklahoma State… It continues the longest losing streak of the Jerome Tang era.
• The teams combined for 91 points in the second half after scoring 56 points in the first half.
• The loss snapped a 3-game winning streak over Oklahoma State.
• The teams split the season series with each winning on their own court… K-State continues to lead the all-time series, 86-59, while the Wildcats are now 28-37 on the road… Oklahoma State now lead the series, 24-20, in the Big 12 era.
• K-State is now 2-4 on the road, including 1-3 in Big 12 play.
• K-State scored its 72 points on 46.8 percent (29-of-62) shooting, including 37.5 percent (9-of-24) from 3-point range, and 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from the free throw line.
• Each team connected on 9 3-pointers, including 6 each in the second half.
• Four Wildcats scored in double figures led by senior Tylor Perry’s 19 points… K-State is now 10-2 this season and 22-6 under Jerome Tang when four players score in double figures.
• K-State lost for the first time (7-1) when senior Will McNair Jr., scores in double figures.
• K-State won the rebounding battle, 36-31, for the 13^th time in 22 games this season, including 12 offensive rebounds that the Wildcats converted into 20 second-chance points.
• The specialty stats were nearly even with both teams scoring 32 points in the paint and getting 20 points each from their benches… K-State held a 20-11 advantage in second-chance points, while Oklahoma State held a 16-13 edge in points off turnovers.
• K-State used a new starting lineup of senior Tylor Perry, freshman Dai Dai Ames, junior Cam Carter, junior Arthur Kaluma and redshirt sophomore Jerrell Colbert… It marked the first time using this lineup and just the fifth different lineup this season… Carter has now started all 58 games in his K-State career… Carter and Perry have started all 22 games… Kaluma earned his 20th start… It was the fourth start for Ames and the first career start for Colbert.

PLAYER NOTES

• Four Wildcats scored in double figures led by 19 points from senior Tylor Perry… He was joined in double figures by juniors Cam Carter (17 points) and Arthur Kaluma (14 points) and senior Will McNair Jr. (12 points).
• Perry has now led the team in scoring on 11 occasions.
• Perry scored his 19 points on 6-of-15 field goals, including 5-of-9 from 3-point range, and 2-of-2 free throws… All 19 of his points came in the second half, as he is averaging 10.6 points after halftime… He has now scored in double figures in 73 career games, including 15 this season.
• Carter scored his 17 points on 7-of-12 field goals, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range, to go with team-highs in both assists (5) and steals (3) in nearly 39 minutes… He has now scored in double figures in 29 career games, including a team-best 19 this season.
• Kaluma scored his 14 points on 6-of-11 field goals and 2-of-3 free throws to go with 5 rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block in 30 minutes… He has now scored in double figures in 58 career games, including 18 this season.
• McNair scored his 12 points on 6-of-7 field goals to go with a team-high 9 rebounds… He has now scored in double figures in 22 career games, including 8 this season.

UP NEXT

K-State makes a quick turnaround to play host to No. 8/9 Kansas (18-4, 6-3 Big 12) on Monday at 8 p.m., CT on ESPN in the Dillons Sunflower Showdown.