David N’Guessan scored 21 points to lead Kansas State past Colorado for a 65-56 Big 12 Conference on Sunday afternoon in Manhattan, Kan.
K-State (14-15, 8-10 Big 12) never trailed as the Wildcats snapped a four-game losing streak both overall and against Colorado.
Besides N’Guessan, who was one point shy of his season high, the Wildcats got 11 points from Brendan Hausen and 10 from Dug McDaniel. N’Guessan also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.
Colorado (11-18, 2-16) matched its season low in points and clinched last place in the Big 12 with the loss. R.J. Smith paced the Buffaloes with 11 points, while both Sebastian Rancik and Bangot Dak chipped in with 10.
The Wildcats had a 20-5 advantage in points off turnovers. The Buffs struggled from behind the arc, shooting just 17.4 percent (4-of-23) from 3-point range.
Colorado got the deficit inside single digits early in the second half, but the Wildcats responded, leading by as many as 17 with 14 minutes left.
The Buffs hit six straight field goals to trim the gap to 54-43 at the under-8 timeout. But they couldn’t get it closer than eight points (60-52) down the stretch.
K-State got a much-needed quick start, jumping out to a 12-2 lead. When N’Guessan threw down a dunk near the midway point of the first half, it not only gave the Wildcats their largest lead to that point (18-7), it also put N’Guessan over 1,000 points for his career.
Julian Hammond III, Colorado’s season leader in points (12.8), assists (3.1) and steals (1.2), left the game with 6:33 left in the half with an apparent back injury. He did not return and finished with no points, assists or steals in eight minutes of action.
The Wildcats stretched the lead to as many as 16 points before taking a 33-22 lead into the locker room. N’Guessan led the Wildcats with nine points and McDaniel added seven. The Buffaloes were led by Smith’s seven points.
–Field Level Media
