Jones, Lewis lead Marquette past Kansas State 64-63
Dec 8, 2021, 6:37 AM | Updated: 8:42 pm
Marquette forward Kur Kuath (35) finishes a dunk over Kansas State forward Kaosi Ezeagu (20) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021,in Manhattan, Kan. At left is Marquette forward Justin Lewis and at right is Kansas State guard Mike McGuirl. Marquette won 64-63. (AP Photo/Nick Krug)
(AP Photo/Nick Krug)
MANHATTAN, Kansas (AP) — Kam Jones scored 15 points, Oso Ighodaro blocked a potential game-winning shot in the final seconds and Marquette edged Kansas State 64-63 in the Big East/Big 12 Battle on Wednesday night, K-State’s first home loss this season.
Kansas State pulled within a point, 64-63 on a Mike McGuirl 3-pointer with 19 seconds left and, after fouling three times in as many seconds after a timeout, the Wildcats got the ball back when Jones missed a free throw and Kaosi Ezeagu grabbed the defensive board.
But after working for a final shot, Ismael Massoud’s drive for the winning reverse layup was cleanly rejected by the 6-foot-9 freshman Ighodaro with Tyler Kolek wrapping up the rebound and the Marquette victory.
Justin Lewis scored 14 for Marquette (8-2), which is now 4-1 this season against Power Five opponents.
Mark Smith scored four of K-State’s last seven points, finishing with a season-high 17, as the Wildcats (5-3) cut a seven point gap down to one. Massoud added 16 points and Markquis Nowell 11 with 11 assists and eight rebounds.
The Wildcats were playing without Nijel Pack, who missed a second game after suffering a concussion in practice. The sophomore point guard leads K-State in scoring at 15.8 points per game.
The Wildcats opened the second half with two Massoud baskets around a McGuirl steal, and when Nowell followed with another bucket, Marquette called time out less than 90 seconds into the half.
Marquette answered with two brief runs, including an 8-0 surge over about two minutes in which K-State missed three straight 3-pointers.
The Golden Eagles hit 11 of 37 from distance despite K-State being ranked fourth nationally in 3-point defense.
There were nine lead changes and eight ties with Marquette taking the lead for good, 52-50, on an Olivier-Maxence Prosper dunk at the 10:03 mark.
Including his time at Texas (2015-21), Marquette first-year coach Shaka Smart is 8-5 against Kansas State, 5-2 in Bramlage Coliseum.
Next, Marquette plays host to No. 4 UCLA on Saturday before opening Big East play Dec. 18 at Xavier. Kansas State hosts Green Bay on Sunday.
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