WACO, Texas – Juniors Barry Brown Jr., and Dean Wade combined for 58 points, as Kansas State led from wire-to-wire for the second consecutive Big 12 game in a 90-83 victory over Baylor on Monday night at the Ferrell Center.
The Wildcats (15-5, 5-3 Big 12) have now four of their last five games, including three in a row in Big 12 play.
Brown scored a game-high 34 points of 9-of-16 field goals, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range, and went a perfect 12-of-12 from the free throw line. It was the best shooting performance from the line by a Wildcat since Denis Clemente also went 12-of-12 from the line in a win at Texas on Jan. 31, 2009. He has now scored in double figures in nine consecutive games, while registering his second career 30-point outing.
Paired with Brown to combine for 58 K-State points, Wade added his fourth consecutive 20-point game with 24 points on 9-of-12 field goals and 6-of-8 from the free throw line. Earlier in the day, Wade was named the Citizen Naismith Trophy National Player of the Week and the Phillips Big 12 Player of the Week.
Redshirt freshman Cartier Diarra (11 points) and sophomore Makol Mawien (10 points) gave K-State four double-digit scorers for the fifth consecutive game and the ninth time this season. The Wildcats connected on 57.1 percent (28-of-49) from the field, marking the 11th time this season the team has connected on 50 percent or better in a game, including the third consecutive game.
K-State’s 90-point effort was the most points allowed by Baylor all season, and the third time K-State scored 90 or more points this season.
Baylor (12-8, 2-6 Big 12) was led by senior guard Manu Lecomte, who scored a team-high 16 points. The Bears were held to 46.6 percent (28-of-60) shooting in the game, while turning the ball over 15 times.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After back-to-back conference wins at home, K-State did not skip a beat on the Baylor hardwood on Monday, as they led through the entirety of the game, including a game-high 19-point lead in the second half.
Tasked with the Baylor 1-3-1 zone early on in the game, the Wildcats scored with ease by jumping out to a 10-4 opening run. Wade scored 11 of the first 22 K-State points on 4-4 shooting, while outscoring the entire Baylor team through the first eight minutes of play.
Paired with Wade, sophomore forward Makol Mawien added a confident presence to the Wildcat frontcourt following a career-high 18 points against TCU on Saturday, by adding 9 points in the first half. Mawien connected on his first 4-of-5 shots, as K-State jumped out to a 29-15 lead through at 8:07.
Despite the early lead and shooting over 50 percent from the field in the half, the Bears were able to claw back to draw the lead to just five at the 1:34 mark, as Baylor made an 8-0 run.
With only six seconds remaining before the half, Baylor’s Loul-Acuil Jr. made it a five-point game after hitting just his fourth 3-pointer of the season. K-State led at the break, 45-40, behind 58 percent (15-of-26) shooting from the field, and 55 percent (6-of-11) from beyond the 3-point line, while holding Baylor to 43 percent (13-of-30) from the field. The 58 percent from the field marks the ninth time this season the Wildcats shot over 50 percent from the field in the first half.
Brown led the Wildcats with 13 points at the half, and was joined in double figures by Wade, who added 11. Wade also led the team with 3 rebounds at the break.
Straight out of the half-time break, K-State ran a perfectly scripted alley-oop to open the half in scoring, as redshirt freshman Cartier Diarra found Wade rolling to the basket following a screen.
However, K-State ran into foul trouble early on in the second half, when freshman big-man Levi Stockard III fouled out just three minutes into the second half, and Mawien accumulating three fouls. With Baylor lingering, the Wildcats went to their leading scorer.
In double figures for his ninth-straight game, Brown went on to score 8-straight points for the Wildcats in the second half to bring their lead to 8 points with 13:51 remaining. That’s when the Wildcat backcourt took over the game.
On the ensuing Wildcat possession, Diarra drove the lane and connected on a jumper surrounding by the Baylor bigs. On the other end, Diarra swiped the ball from the Bears, before passing it down the court to junior guard Amaad Wainwright who flushed a dunk over a Baylor defender. Brown would feed Wade for another dunk to bring the lead to 62-49 with 11:46 remaining.
Leading by 18, Baylor was able to string together an 11-point run to cut the K-State lead to just seven points with 6:16 remaining.
Needing to end the Baylor scoring run, Brown had the ball in his hands, and resorted to a step-back jumper from beyond the arc to bring the lead back to double-digits and to muster his second-career 30-point game.
In the closing minutes, Brown and the Wildcats made the best of the free-throw line, as Brown connected on 12-of-12 free throws in the game. Brown’s game-high 34 points led K-State to victory, beating Baylor 90-83.
K-State shot 57.1 percent (28-of-49) from the field and 47 percent (8-of-17) from beyond the arc, en route to their third scoring effort of 90 or more points this season. The 90 points was the most Baylor has allowed all season, as Baylor shot 46.6 percent (28-of-60) from the field while committing 15 turnovers.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Barry Brown Jr. – The go-to scorer for the Wildcats, Brown led the team in scoring heading into Monday’s matchup, and he left with his ninth-consecutive double-digit scoring effort and his second career 30+ point game. On Monday against the Bears, Brown scored 34 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and a perfect 12-of-12 from the free throw line, while adding 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
STAT OF THE GAME
90 – K-State scored 90 or more points for the third time this season, by shooting 57.1 percent from the field and a combined 58 points from Brown and Wade. K-State scored a season-high 91 points earlier this season against Iowa State, and 90 points against Arizona State.
