BOULDER, Colo. – A 3-pointer by freshman Andrej Kostic helped Kansas State close to within a possession with 2:13 to play after trailing by as many as 22 points, but Colorado was able to salt the game away from the free throw line, knocking down 6 of 8 attempts, to hold on for a 79-70 win on Wednesday night before 6,058 fans at the CU Events Center.
The loss spoiled an impressive performance by junior P.J. Haggerty, who led the way for the Wildcats (11-17, 2-13 Big 12) with a game-high 25 points and a career-tying 10 rebounds. It was his fifth career double-double, including his team-leading third of the season. He was joined in double figures by senior Nate Johnson and freshman Andrej Kostic, who each had 10 points.
The game came down to a pair of 5-minute scoring droughts, one in each in half, that helped Colorado (16-12, 6-9 Big 12) gain the lead that it held for nearly 34 minutes.
The Wildcats led 14-13 after a Kostic 3-pointer with under 12 minutes to play in the first half before the Buffaloes scored 16 straight points to go ahead 29-14 at the 7:22 mark. The lead grew to as many as 19 points (37-18) with 3:45 to play before a 15-5 run cut the deficit to 42-33 at the break.
K-State further whittled the lead to 42-37 just 2 minutes into the second half before it was struck with another scoring drought, as Colorado rattled off 17 straight points to expand the lead to its largest at 59-37 with 13:14 to play. A jumper by Haggerty ended the drought and sparked a 20-5 run that included 9 straight points that closed the gap to 64-57 at the 6:31 mark.
The Buffaloes responded with 7 of the next 11 points to go ahead 71-61 at the final media timeout, but the Wildcats gave it one last push with 8 straight points that was capped by a corner 3-pointer from Kostic that pulled them to within 73-70 with 2:13 to play. However, it would get no closer, as the home team made 6 of 8 free throws to pull away for the final 79-70 margin.
Colorado narrowly out-shot K-State, 43.1 to 38.8 percent, but made 4 more 3-pointers (9-5) while hitting 7 more free throws (20-13).
Five Buffaloes recorded double-digit scoring games, including a near triple-double from freshman Isaiah Johnson, who had 18 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists in 33 minutes. He was joined in double figures by fellow freshman Ian Inman (17 points), junior Barrington Hargress (14 points), sophomore Sebastian Rancik (13 points) and junior Bangot Dak (10 points).
Haggerty, who has led the Wildcats in scoring in 17 consecutive games, including all 15 Big 12 contests, earned his 21st game of at least 20 points this season, which ties for the third-most in a single season and the most since Michael Beasley had 26 in 2007-08. He has now scored in double figures in all 28 games this season.
This was the first meeting between the schools in Boulder and the CU Events Center in more than 15 years since a 58-56 win by the Buffaloes on Feb. 12, 2011. Colorado has the upper hand of late with wins of 5 of the last 6 meetings, including each of the last 2 matchups in Boulder.
K-State lost its second straight game under interim head coach Matthew Driscoll, who was named to the position on Feb. 15. He is now 1-2 in the role, including 0-1 in his first matchup vs. Colorado.
INTERIM HEAD COACH MATTHEW DRISCOLL
On the team’s ability to persevere…
“You know, as the game went on and as those situations presented themselves, there was a time I think they went up 22 (points), I think 59-37, and the staff turned to me and said, ‘Call timeout.’ And I didn’t. And to their credit, our guys responded. It was 73-70 with two minutes to go. And the resiliency that these guys have shown over these 10 days, starting with Houston, because that’s really where it started. It continued after the coaching transition then how they reacted against Baylor then on the road at No. 13 Texas Tech then coming here. Colorado, they’re a really good team. They play really, really well together. They just don’t have the experience yet and maybe have all the things that they need in place yet, but they’re really, really good. I’ve admired them all year, nine freshmen, a couple of them are redshirt, and then a couple of sophomores, and then some older guys. But our guys were extremely resilient. They were tough.”
On the runs to close the game…
“I think it was early in the second half and the lead was 18. We were in the timeout, and I said ‘you don’t want to hear this. However, this thing’s about ready to get ugly because we haven’t decided we’re gonna get one stop.’ And CJ Jones said to me, ‘Coach, we’re turning this around. And I said, Really, you think you are?’ I said, ‘By the way, we just cut it to seven with the ball to begin the half, and we let him get back up 18. Like that ain’t happening. Like, this thing’s about ready to get ugly.’ And CJ said, ‘No’ and he looked me right in the eye. I said, ‘Oh, is that right, CJ? I said, so you think we’re gonna get a stop, so we’re gonna turn this around?’ And he said, ‘Coach, I know we are.’ And I said, ‘Okay’ and I got up and I left the huddle. And they did. They got stop after stop after stop.”
On being encouraged despite the loss…
“We got some really big minutes from certain people that you know, Elias (Rapieque) is coming back from his injuries and stepping out on the floor not playing for a month, and he buries the three to make his first play, and then the pocket pass that allowed Taj (Manning) to get the reverse layup and I could go on and on and on. We turn them over 17 times, five of the first five minutes, and five in the last five minutes of the first half. And I asked the guys to get it back to single digits, and they did. We come out of the second half. We get a layup. This is the best 3-point shooting team in the history of the school, but we didn’t make threes tonight and it was still 73-70. And I can’t tell you, there was what, four, maybe five bad threes we took all the rest of them were threes that we normally make. So, I’m encouraged. It says, in Thessalonians, it says, continue to encourage each other and build each other up, just as you’re already doing. Because in Proverbs, it says, where there is no vision, the people will perish, and our vision is very clear. And TCU is the next opponent on Saturday night.”
On managing the ups and downs…
“I’m not a moral victory guy. I’ve never been. I’m not a guy that’s going to learn from losing like I’m not into that stuff. I’m into learning. I’m in to keep pouring into the cup because the cups are a little bit empty. But like, so whatever transpires, or however that transpires then we’re gonna have to figure out what that looks like. You can’t in the last two minutes of the game, you can’t get three shots blocked. We got to be better at playing off to getting fouled, getting to the free throw line, stopping the clock, being able to utilize those things. We have to be more efficient. So I don’t know if disappointment is the word or frustration, but I do feel like we’re right there like we are right there. And so, TCU is next. That was a heck of a game up at their place.”
On the return of Elias Rapieque…
“Elias, he looked no different than before he got hurt, which is to his credit. And what’s more impressive is he turned 22 today. It’s his birthday, and he never sulked. He never not coached. He was on the bench telling the guys when we were down 18 that we’re going to do this. And at that point he hadn’t played yet. So to his credit, he came back just like when he left.”
FIRST HALF
The teams battled through 3 ties in the early going before a jumper by junior P.J. Haggerty and a 3-pointer by freshman Andrej Kostic gave K-State an early 11-8 lead. However, Colorado scored 16 of the next 19 points to go ahead 24-14 and force Driscoll to call his first timeout at the 8:41 mark.
The timeout didn’t quell the momentum, as the run reached 16-0 before a jumper by senior C.J. Jones snapped a more than 5-minute scoring drought with 6:24 to play. The lead grew to 34-16 after a dunk by junior Bangot Dak before the Wildcats scored 7 of the next 10 points to pull to within 37-23 and force a timeout by Tad Boyle with 3:17 before halftime.
After a sixth 3-pointer of the half for Colorado, K-State ended the half on a positive note, scoring 10 of the last 12 points to trim the deficit to 42-33 at the break. The Buffaloes shot 47.1 percent (16-of-34) from the field, including 40 percent (6-of-15) from beyond the arc, with junior Barrington Hargress leading the way with 10 points. The Wildcats finished at 39.4 percent (13-of-33) from the field, including 25 percent (3-of-12) from long range, as Haggerty had 11 points.
SECOND HALF
K-State was able to slice the lead to 42-37 in the early moments of the second half, but Colorado responded with 8 straight points to push back ahead 50-37 at the 16:58 mark, prompting a timeout by Driscoll. The timeout didn’t halt the momentum, as the Buffaloes rattled off 9 more points to extend the lead to more than 20 points (59-37) with just over 13 minutes to play.
Haggerty ended a more than 5-minute scoring drought with a basket on the following possession, as a 3-pointer by junior Elias Rapieque and another jumper by Haggerty helped the Wildcats to within 62-44 at the second media timeout. The momentum continued out of the timeout, as a Haggerty layup sparked a 13-2 run that closed the gap to 64-57, forcing a timeout by Boyle at the 6:31 mark. The Buffaloes answered with 4 straight free throws then went up 71-61 on a 3-pointer by freshman Ian Inman just before the final media timeout with 3:34 remaining.
After Colorado went up 73-62 with just over 3 minutes remaining, a Haggerty jumper sparked a run of 8 straight points that cut the deficit to 73-70 after a 3-pointer by freshman Andrej Kostic with 2:13 to play. However, the Wildcats could get no closer as the Buffaloes made 6 of 8 free throws down the stretch to hold on for the 79-70 win.
Haggerty led all scorers with 14 points in the second half.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- K-State dropped its seventh straight road game with a 79-70 loss at Colorado.
- It marked the third straight game for interim head coach Matthew Driscoll, who is now 1-2 with the Wildcats… He is now 275-342 as a head coach, including 0-1 vs. Colorado.
- K-State still leads the all-time series with Colorado, 97-49… However, the Buffaloes have a 19-18 edge in the Big 12 era and are 34-32 all-time at home in the series… They have won 5 of the last 6 meetings, including the last matchup in Boulder on Feb. 12, 2011.
- K-State is now 1-9 on the road this season.
- K-State used a starting lineup of junior P.J. Haggerty, senior Nate Johnson, sophomore David Castillo, junior Taj Manning and senior Khamari McGriff… This is the sixth time using this lineup and the sixth different lineup used this season.
- Haggerty and Johnson have now started all 28 games.
- Haggerty now has 94 career starts (Tulsa/Memphis/K-State), N. Johnson now has 88 career starts (Akron/K-State), McGriff now has 66 career starts (UNC Wilmington/K-State), Castillo and Manning now have 14 career starts each.
- Junior Elias Rapieque returned to the lineup after missing the last 11 games due to injury.
TEAM NOTES
- K-State scored its 70 points on 38.2 percent (26-of-67) shooting, including 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from 3-point range, while hitting on 72.2 percent (13-of-18) from free throw line.
- K-State is now 0-13 this season when scoring less than 80 points.
- K-State made five 3-pointers on the night to extend its school-record to 267 on the season.
- K-State outscored Colorado, 36-32, in the paint and 18-14 on fast-break points.
- Colorado turned 14 K-State turnovers into 20 points, while the Wildcats had 18 points off 17 Buffalo turnovers.
- Colorado held a 43-36 advantage on the glass with a 7-5 edge on second-chance points.
- K-State trailed 42-33 at the half and is now 1-15 on the season when trailing at the break.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Three Wildcats scored in double figures, including a game-high 25 points from junior P.J. Haggerty, 10 points from senior Nate Johnson and 10 points from freshman Andrej Kostic.
- Haggerty scored his 25 points on 10-of-21 field goals, including 1-of-3 from 3-point range, and 4-of-6 free throws to go with a game-high 10 rebounds and 4 assists in 39 minutes… He has now scored in double figures in 92 of 100 career games, including all 28 games this season.
- Haggerty earned his 21st 20-point game of the season, which ties for the 3rd most in a single season and most since Michael Beasley had 26 in 2007-08.
- Haggerty collected his fifth career double-double, including his team-high third of the season… He matched his career-high for rebounds for the fourth time.
- Johnson scored his 10 points on 3-of-9 field goals and 4-of-4 free throws to go with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in 33 minutes… He has now scored in double figures in 58 career games, including 18 this season.
- Kostic tallied double figures for the second time this season with 10 points on 3-of-9 field goals, including 3-of-8 from 3-point range, and 1-of-2 free throws in 17 minutes.
- Junior Elias Rapieque played for the first time in more than a month, scoring 5 points on 2-of-3 field goals with 3 rebounds and an assist in 8 minutes off the bench.
WHAT’S NEXT
K-State plays the first of back-to-back home games on Saturday night when the Wildcats play host to TCU (18-10, 8-7 Big 12). Tip is set for 5:30 p.m., CT on ESPN2. The Horned Frogs have won the last 4 games with the Wildcats, including an 84-82 come-from-behind victory on Feb. 7 in Fort Worth, in which, they scored the last 7 points.
