HOUSTON, Texas – Kansas State went toe-to-toe with No. 3/3 Houston on Saturday afternoon before the Cougars used their patented defense to pull away for a 78-64 victory to extend their winning streak to 18 games at the Fertitta Center.
Junior P.J. Haggerty, who eclipsed 2,000 career points in the first half, led three Wildcats in double figures with a game-tying 23 points, while senior Nate Johnson collected his third career double-double and second of the season with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Junior Taj Manning matched his career-high with 10 points.
K-State (10-15, 1-11 Big 12) led for nearly 11 minutes in the first half, including 15-6 after back-to-back 3-pointers from senior C.J. Jones and Haggerty at the 11:35 mark. However, the Big 12-leading Cougars (23-2, 11-1 Big 12) turned up the defensive intensity, holding the Wildcats to just 4 points the rest of the half on 1-on-15 field goals with 7 turnovers.
Offensively, Houston took control of the game over the last 11 minutes of the first half, shaking off a 1-of-12 start from the field to score 27 points and lead 33-19 at the break. A dunk by freshman Chris Cenac Jr. gave the Cougars the lead for good with 7:26 before halftime as part of an 8-0 run.
The 19 first-half points tied for the fewest under head coach Jerome Tang and lowest since also scoring 19 against Oklahoma on Jan. 30, 2024, while the Wildcats were held to just 20.8 percent (5-of-24) shooting, including just one made 2-point field goal, which is a new low under Tang.
Houston continued its momentum in the early moments of the second half, extending its lead to 24 points (47-23) after back-to-back 3-pointers from Cenac and senior Emanuel Sharp at the 16:41 mark. K-State continued to battle, using a 9-0 run to pull to within 47-32 at the first media timeout with under 15 minutes remaining before a 3-pointer from sophomore David Castillo closed the deficit to 59-49 with 7:06 to play.
However, that would be closest it would get, as a 3-pointer from senior Milos Uzan sparked a 10-4 run that put the Cougars ahead 69-53 at the final media timeout with 3:48 remaining. The Wildcats scored 10 of the last 15 points for the final 78-64 margin.
Neither team shot the ball very well, as Houston made 40.7 percent (24-of-59) of its field goals compared to 35.1 percent (20-of-57) for K-State. The team combined for 32 turnovers and 45 personal fouls with Wildcats scoring 26 points off 15 Cougar turnovers.
Sharp was one of Houston players in double figures, as he tied Haggerty for the game-high with 23 points on 6-of-14 field goals, including 3-of-8 from 3-point range, and 8-of-9 free throws. Uzan and freshman sensation Kingston Flemings added 12 points each.
Haggerty hit his milestone with his first 3-pointer in the first half, as the junior became the fifth current Division I player to eclipse 2,000 career points, joining Gonzaga’s Graham Ike, Indiana’s Tucker DeVries, Oklahoma’s Nijel Pack and SMU’s Jaron Pierre Jr.
The No. 2 scorer nationally at 23.3 points per game, who also ranks second in points (583), field goals made (214) and attempted (441), notched his 19th game of 20 or more points, which is the most by a Wildcat in a single season since Michael Beasley had a school-record 26 in 2007-08. The 19 games of 20 or more points now ranks fifth in a single season.
K-State is now winless in 3 meetings with Houston since the start of Big 12 play.
HEAD COACH JEROME TANG
Opening statement…
“First of all, I want to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for the blessing I have to coach at Kansas State and live life with these dudes. Congratulations to Houston. They are a terrific team.
Every time we made a mistake, they made us pay, and that’s what good teams do. But I’m very proud of our guys, and not just the effort that was out there. I’m proud of what we did the last couple of days and how they prepared and their commitment to it. I asked Coach (Abdi) Bashir to come and Coach (Nate) Johnson to come, because you guys took ownership of the scout and a preparation for this and took on some great leadership responsibilities these last couple days. And their teammates really responded to that.”
On allowing the players to handle the scout instead of the coaches…
“I was allowing them to have a greater voice. You know, like they have a voice, and sometimes they don’t use it the way I’d like them to, and so I just took my voice out of it and made them have to speak to each other.”
On the issue not sustaining momentum in the second half…
“The issue was Houston. I mean, good teams make you pay when you make a mistake. We have an open three, we miss it and they go down. It’s late in the shot clock, corner 3-pointer and (Emanuel) Sharp hits it. We come down and have an open three and miss. They go down. Chris Cenac Jr. hits the three on this side. That’s what good teams do. And then the Kingston (Flemings) floater. That’s a 27 percent shot for most players, but in those moments, really good teams come through. Where we could have cut it to four points, they extended the lead and that’s what good teams do.”
On turning Houston over 15 times…
“We were fortunate to turn them over. Sometimes teams just have off nights.”
On his team’s effort tonight…
“I’m not going to keep commenting (on their effort). We got this portion of our season left before we go to the Big 12 Tournament, and this is a chapter in our life. And as a team, we’ve decided that we can be the victims or the victor, and we’re choosing to be the victors. And that’s the approach they have. They have a really positive mindset. Adversity can fracture you, or it can refine you. And as a team, they are choosing to be refined. I’m just really proud of the way they’ve prepared. And I’m really excited to see what we do tomorrow. Because we got a game on Tuesday, and we got to grind tomorrow. We got to grind Monday, so that we’re ready to have the same, if not elevated, effort, to have a chance to be better.”
FIRST HALF
Houston scored the first points on a layup by senior Emanuel Sharp just 13 seconds into the game before missing their next 11 field goals, allowing K-State to rattle off the next 9 points. Sharp ended the 0-of-11 drought with a 3-pointer; however, the Wildcats responded with 3-pointers from senior C.J. Jones and junior P.J. Haggerty to go ahead 15-6 at the second media timeout.
The Cougars were able to regain the lead just after the third media timeout by using their trademark defense to force 7 turnovers while scoring 13 of the next 14 points. The Wildcats went nearly 6 minutes without a field goal before junior Taj Manning’s dunk at the 5:24 mark pulled them to within 20-19. The home team responded with the next 5 points to extend the lead to 25-19 and force Jerome Tang to call his first timeout with 4:03 to play before halftime.
Houston scored the last 8 points to go into the locker room ahead 33-19 at the break. Sharp led all scorers with 14 points, while Haggerty paced the Wildcats with 8 points.
SECOND HALF
Houston continued its run to start the second half with the half’s first 6 points to go ahead 39-19 and force a timeout by Tang at the 18:48 mark. A follow-up layup by Manning out of the timeout snapped a streak of 12 consecutive field goal misses. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Sharp and freshman Chris Cenac Jr. gave the Cougars their largest lead to 47-23 with 16:41 to play.
The Wildcats didn’t go away as they used a 9-0 run that included 5 points from sophomore David Castillo and junior Dorin Buca to close to within 47-32 at the first media timeout at the 14:43 mark. The teams traded baskets over the next few minutes before consecutive baskets by the Cougars made it 55-36 with just under 12 minutes remaining.
Haggerty was able to spark K-State with 7 points during a 12-4 run that cut the deficit to 59-49 after a 3-pointer by Castillo at the 7:06 mark. However, that would be the closest it would get, as a 3-pointer by senior Milos Uzan ignited a 10-4 run that put Houston up 69-53 at the final media timeout. The lead grew to 19 points (73-54) after 4 consecutive free throws, but the Wildcats were able to finish the game with 10 of the last 15 points for the final 78-64 margin.
Haggerty led all scorers with 15 points.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- K-State dropped its sixth straight game with a 78-64 loss at No. 3/3 Houston.
- K-State is now 1-11 in Big 12 play, which ties for the worst start in the Big 12 era, also by the 1999-2000 and 2020-21 teams.
- Houston now leads the all-time series, 6-5, including 3-0 in the Big 12 era.
- K-State is now 16-22 vs. Top 25 teams under Jerome Tang, including 0-6 this season.
- K-State is now 7-10 vs. Top 10 teams under Jerome Tang, including 0-4 this season.
- K-State is now 1-13 on the road this season and 10-32 under Jerome Tang.
- 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 third time using this lineup and the sixth different lineup used this season.
- Haggerty and Johnson have now started all 25 games.
- Haggerty now has 91 career starts (Tulsa/Memphis/K-State), N. Johnson now has 85 career starts (Akron/K-State), McGriff now has 63 career starts (UNC Wilmington/K-State), Castillo and Manning now have 11 career starts each.
- K-State played with just 10 available players due to injuries with 8 seeing time.
TEAM NOTES
- K-State scored its 64 points on 35.1 percent (20-of-57) shooting, including 30.8 percent (8-of-26) from 3-point range, while hitting on 64 percent (16-of-25) from free throw line.
- K-State is now 0-11 when scoring less than 80 points this season.
- K-State’s 19 first-half points tied for the fewest under Jerome Tang, while the 20.8 field goal percentage (5-of-24) represented the lowest under Tang.
- K-State scored 26 points off 15 Houston turnovers.
- K-State outscored Houston, 20-10, on fast-break points.
- Houston held a 42-37 advantage on the glass, including 12 offensive rebounds that they converted into a 15-13 edge in second-chance points.
- K-State trailed 33-19 at halftime and is now 1-13 this season and 18-44 under head coach Jerome Tang when trailing at the break.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Three Wildcats scored in double figures, including 23 points from junior P.J. Haggerty, 12 points from senior Nate Johnson and 10 points from junior Taj Manning.
- Haggerty eclipsed 2,000 career points with his 3-pointer at the 11:35 mark of the first half.
- Haggerty scored his game-high 23 points on 7-of-20 field goals, including 2-of-7 from 3-point range, and 7-of-12 free throws with 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists in playing all 40 minutes… He has now scored in double figures in 89 of 97 career games, including all 25 games this season… He now has scored 20 or more points in 19 of 25 games this season.
- Johnson scored his 12 points on 3-of-11 field goals, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, with a game-high 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in playing all 40 minutes… It was his third career double-double, including his second this season… He has now scored in double figures in 55 career games, including 15 this season.
- Manning tied his career-high with 10 points on 3-of-4 field goals and 4-of-7 free throws to go with 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 30 minutes… It was his second career double-digit scoring game.
WHAT’S NEXT
K-State returns home on Tuesday night, as the Wildcats play host to Baylor (13-12, 3-9 Big 12) at Bramlage Coliseum. Tip is set for 8 p.m., CT on ESPN2. The Bears lead the all-time series, 27-26, including an 11-11 mark at Bramlage Coliseum. Last season, the Wildcats lost to the Bears twice, including, 70-62, in Waco and 70-56 in Kansas City.
