No. 18 Kansas State holds off West Virginia
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Shane Southwell put Kansas State ahead and then swatted away any chance of a West Virginia triumph.
Southwell finished with 17 points and hit a pair of go-ahead free throws with 21.4 seconds remaining in the 18th-ranked Wildcats' 65-64 win over the Mountaineers.
On West Virginia's ensuing trip down the floor following Southwell's foul shots, Jabarie Hinds missed a jumper with 12 seconds left, but the ball went out of bounds and back to the Mountaineers.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Kansas State's Angel Rodriguez knocked the inbounds pass away and into the backcourt. With the clock ticking down, a scrambling Gary Browne retrieved the ball and frantically drove the lane, but met Southwell, who emphatically blocked the shot away with a second remaining.
"We fought too hard for that game," Southwell said. "We just needed to find a way to win."
Rodney McGruder added 17 points for Kansas State (13-2, 2-0 Big 12), which has won six straight.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hinds netted 15 points to lead the Mountaineers (8-7, 1-2), who have dropped eight in a row against top-25 foes.
West Virginia again played without second-leading scorer Juwan Staten, who was benched for a second straight game for disciplinary reasons.
"He has to get on the same page as me or he is not going to play anymore," Huggins said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The back-and-forth affair was played within a one-possession window over the final 13:20 after two Aaric Murray free throws pulled the Mountaineers within 48-45.
Later, Rodriguez's right baseline jumper gave Kansas State a 63-60 lead with 2:14 left before a Murray jumper a little over a minute later made it a one- point game with 1:21 to play.
After McGruder misfired from the right elbow, Eron Harris drove on Will Spradling along the right baseline before pulling up and nailing the jumper for a 64-63 Kansas State edge with 25 ticks to go.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Wildcats took a 36-33 cushion into the halftime break.
Game Notes
Murray tallied 11 points and five rebounds ... Kansas State shot 51 percent (25-of-49) from the field, while West Virginia shot 51.1 percent (24-of-47) from the floor.