This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Stillwater, Okla. • Le'Bryan Nash scored 24 points, Marcus Smart added 21 and No. 13 Oklahoma State hurt No. 9 Kansas State's chances to win the Big 12 championship by beating the Wildcats 76-70 on Saturday.
The Wildcats (25-6, 14-4 Big 12) came into the day tied with rival Kansas for the conference lead, but they were left needing the Jayhawks to lose on the road at Baylor later Saturday to come away with their first conference title since 1977 in the Big Eight.
K-State led by as much as nine in the second half and was up 61-57 following Rodney McGruder's three-point play with 4 minutes, 45 seconds remaining. The Cowboys (23-7, 13-5) didn't allow another field goal for more than four minutes and hit 13 straight free throws during crunch time to come away with the win.
McGruder led the Wildcats with 22 points. He had a big game when the teams met in the Big 12 opener, making all five of his 3-point attempts to lead K-State to a victory. He couldn't match that this time, connecting on only six of his 15 shots.
Thomas Gipson chipped in 15 points and Angel Rodriguez scored 10, but he also struggled to a 3-for-16 outing. Kansas State allowed Oklahoma State to shoot 57 percent while making just 39 percent of its own shots, but it still managed to hang in until the final minutes.
The Wildcats had a six-game winning streak snapped and lost for just the second time in 12 games. —