KU runs past Cats in second half Wed.

LAWRENCE – Many times, head coach Frank Martin has a straightforward approach to answering questions. Wednesday night, he summed up the disappointment in the K-State locker room after the Wildcats fell apart late in the season's second Sunflower Showdown, losing 82-65.

"We lost," he said. "We didn't win the game."

The answer, while a bit sarcastic, proved to be the general consensus of the players after the game. The Wildcats hung in there for 29 minutes, trailing by only four points midway through the second half, but faltered down the stretch, losing to the Jayhawks for the second time this season.

"We had some mental breakdowns," said guard Jacob Pullen. "We were there, we had the game in a position to win it. We just let it slip away."

Coming into Wednesday night's game, Kansas had not lost a home game in 58 tries.

To deny them their 59th, K-State would have to have a near-perfect game, beating the Jayhawks on senior night, or in this case, Sherron Collins night.

Allen Fieldhouse was filled to the rafters, celebrating the success of KU's lone senior. Pullen said the environment may have affected some of the team's younger players.

"It's tough, not everyone has experienced this yet," Pullen said. "It's very loud, the crowd does a great job."

The Wildcats starting backcourt kept K-State in the game for most of the night, with Pullen and Denis Clemente combining for 41 points. However, no other K-State players would reach double figures.

On the other side of the equation, KU had a balanced scoring night, led by Xavier Henry and Collins, who finished with 19 and 17 respectively. Four Jayhawks scored in double figures.

"Our bigs weren't good today," Martin said. "We fouled early, got in foul trouble. It's just one of those deals where our bigs never got going. Then we got in foul

trouble and had to go deep into the bench, and we never really got in rhythm."

Curtis Kelly and Jamar Samuels both struggled with fouling on the night, never getting going and finishing with a combined eight points.

After the game, Kansas head coach Bill Self was happy with his defense for containing the Wildcat frontcourt.

"Samuels is a really really good player, and we held him to four," Self said. "We know they've got guys that can score inside."

Self was in a good mood after the win, clearly proud of his senior for leading the team down the stretch, despite shooting 1 for 9 in the first half. He even made jokes to the crowd of media surrounding Collins after the game.

"What do you guys want to interview a guy that went 1 for 9 in the first half for?" Self joked. "Well, I thought that was funny."

This game was not always a laughing matter for the Jayhawks. After KU jumped to a double-digit lead early, K-State battled back and was able to pull within four in the first half. After the break, the Wildcats used a 7-0 run to tie the game at 45. However, the Wildcats never led in the game.

The Jawhawks used a 13-2 run midway through the second half to take over. The Wildcats went without a field goal for nearly eight minutes while KU built the lead that would ultimately send the Wildcats home with a loss.

Martin attributed much of their success to Collins.

"We've started every game against him down 16 to nothing," Martin said. "I don't know what it is. He makes every big play. Every time we made a run tonight and got the game back to where it needed to be, he made a big play. That's what makes him great."

Due to foul trouble early, K-State looked to its freshman for help off the bench. Freshmen Wally Judge and Rodney McGruder each logged 21 minutes in the game, with Judge matching up well against KU's center, Cole Aldrich.

"They're young, they're freshman," Martin said. "They came into the building against the best team in the country and they tried their hearts out. But, they made major mistakes that hurt us."

In the end, Martin knows that this game does not have to affect the Wildcats in the long term. He said that the team is already shifting its focus towards its own senior night on Saturday.

"I don't dwell on it," Martin said. "We've had a good team all year, this doesn't change anything. We lost to the best team in the country, we've got nothing to hang our hat about.

"We've got to prepare the next two days, we've got to figure out a way to win on senior night, and maybe come out and protect our court on senior night the way Kansas did tonight."