The No. 13 University of Arizona men’s basketball team (17-7, 11-2 in Big 12) fell to Kansas State University (13-11, 7-6 in Big 12) 73-70 on Tuesday, Feb. 11 in Bramlage Coliseum at 6 p.m. The loss snaps Arizona’s six-game winning streak and puts the Wildcats second in the conference behind the University of Houston and its 12-1 record.
Four Arizona players finished in double-digits, as the Wildcats were led by KJ Lewis who scored 15 points and eight rebounds. Jaden Bradley followed, securing 13 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Henri Veesaar scored 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting while hauling in seven rebounds and a team-leading three steals. Tobe Awaka contributed 10 points, shooting 4-of-5 from the line. For Kansas State, Dug McDaniel scored a season-high 24 points to help his team beat Arizona.
First half
The game opened with both programs trading buckets as Caleb Love drilled a mid-range jumper to achieve 2,500 career-points in his collegiate career, tying the game at 6. Out of a media timeout, Anthony Dell’Orso dunked the ball and was soon after followed with a converted layup by Veesaar. With 8:29 remaining in the first half, Arizona extended out to a 19-14 lead.
Arizona stretched its advantage to 27-20 but was met with K-State responding by sinking back-to-back buckets that cut the deficit to 3 points. Going into a timeout, however, the officials got together and reviewed Carter Bryant’s layup attempt which was ruled a block. After review, the call was overturned and wiped away two points from K-State, giving Arizona the lead back to 7.
With under four minutes until halftime, Kansas State found itself on a 7-0 scoring run in under a minute. This tied the game up at 29 before Arizona called timeout to find a way to stop the bleeding. The Wildcats found no response as Kansas State continued to dominate on the offensive end, closing the half on a 13-0 scoring run to lead 35-29.
The 13-0 scoring run given up was only the fourth `0-0 scoring run Arizona has allowed all season.
Bradley led Arizona with 8 first-half points on 3-for-5 shooting from the field. Dell’orso and Veesaar followed closely each with 6 points apiece as they shot a combined 5-for-9 from the floor.
Both teams struggled immensely shooting from beyond the arc, as Arizona shot an unimpressive 9 percent (1-for-11) while Kansas State put up 10 percent (1-for-10) in the first half. Arizona turned the ball over eight times, allowing K-State to capitalize and score 11 points off those mistakes. Notably, seven of those turnovers were steals.
Second half
After trading buckets back-and-forth to open the half, both squads went into a combined three-minute scoring drought, stopped by Awaka with a layup. Arizona then found itself on a 6-0 scoring run in the next two minutes, cutting the K-State lead to 45-42 after a commanding dunk made by Bryant.
Arizona would continue to attack as Lewis took back the lead after converting a tough left-handed layup while drawing the foul to go up 48-46 at the 10-minute mark.
Inside the eight-minute mark, the back-and-forth affair continued between the two teams with KSU leading 55-52 after McDaniel converted a jumper.
McDaniel remained a threat to Arizona after drawing a foul when taking a shot from beyond the arc and eventually sinking all three of his attempts from the free throw line.
Arizona took back the 62-60 lead with 4:05 remaining in the game after Bradley assisted Lewis in sinking a mid-range shot. This advantage was short-lived as Kansas State came back on an 8-0 scoring run sparked by McDaniel’s banking a shot off the glass.
Arizona did not go down easy, cutting the gap within one possession at 71-70, but were ultimately too little too late as Kansas State guard Max Jones iced the game by going 2-for-2 from the charity stripe to seal the game.
Both teams shot a season-low from beyond the arc. Arizona shot 2-for-22 while K-State shot 1-for-19 from deep. Despite Arizona crushing KSU in second-chance points, 13-6 and in bench points 27-12, Arizona had a total of 17 turnovers, allowing Kansas State to score 23 points off those mistakes.
“We didn’t play good enough, we didn’t play smart enough to win anywhere, especially on the road,” head coach Tommy Lloyd said post-game.
Looking ahead
The Wildcats will look to bounce back in the win column as the team returns home and hosts No. 6 Houston on Saturday, Feb. 15 at noon in McKale Center.
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