AMES, Iowa – If seven games are all Denis Clemente has left, then he plans to make every one of them count.

That was Clemente's vow after Saturday's 79-75 win at Iowa State – a game in which he tallied a game-high 30 points to lead the No. 10 Wildcats (19-4, 6-3 Big 12 Conference) to their eighth straight win over the Cyclones (13-10, 2-6).

"I've just got to be focused," Clemente said. "I'll just be thinking sometimes, [these games] are my last seven. I've got to give everything I got, and that's what I intend to do."

If that is really Clemente's plan, he's off to a good start.

The Puerto Rico native has racked up 53 points and 11 3-pointers in his last two games. His 30 points on Saturday were the most he's scored since tying a Big 12 record with 44 at Texas last year.

But according to head coach Frank Martin, all that matters to the senior guard is getting into the win column, whether that means scoring 30 points or three.

"Denis wants to win," Martin said. "He doesn't care about anything else. There's a reason our team plays with a certain spirit since he started wearing the uniform."

After falling behind 0-4, a trey from Jacob Pullen ignited a 13-4 run that put the Wildcats in front, but the battle had just begun.

Iowa State went to star forward Craig Brackins early and often and refused to fold despite falling behind. Brackins dominated the paint from the get-go, scoring 14 of the Cyclones' first 19 points. He finished with 29 in the contest.

"[Brackins] is quick and he's a great shooter," said K-State forward Curtis Kelly. "You've really got to stay on him and pressure him a lot. If he gets one sight of the rim, it's going in."

The Wildcats were able to silence Brackins for the rest of the half, but poor shooting kept the game close and gave Iowa State some momentum going into the break. K-State hit just two field goals in the final 4:12, and a 12-6 run by the Cyclones gave them a 35-31 lead at intermission.

A 15-minute break might have been all the Wildcats needed to regroup, because the tide took a dramatic turn almost immediately in the second half.

Iowa State's Scott Christopherson hit a layup in the opening seconds to push the Cyclones' lead to 37-31 – their largest of the game – and then the Wildcats erupted. A pair of free throws by Pullen sparked a 17-2 run that gave K-State the lead for good.

During that stretch, which ended with back-to-back breakaway jams by Jamar Samuels and Wally Judge, the Wildcats also dominated the Cyclones defensively, holding them to no field goals for nearly six minutes.

By Martin's standards, it was a tale of two halves for K-State, which won its fourth straight road game.

"I think our guys came into the locker room at halftime and understood that we weren't playing with as much energy and discipline as we needed to," he said. "We came out, and we were better defensively. Our cuts were harder, our screens were better, we got the ball in the right places."

The Cyclones made things interesting down the stretch, hitting four 3-pointers in the final minute to narrow the gap to four, but that's as close as they got. They were 1-of-19 from beyond the arc in the first 39 minutes.

For the 17th time this season, K-State had four players reach double figures. In addition to Clemente's 30 points, Pullen and Kelly added 15 and Samuels 10.

After a week off, the Wildcats will return to Bramlage Coliseum to take on Colorado and Nebraska in a two-game homestand which Pullen says is greatly welcomed by everyone on the team.

"It's great to be able to go home," Pullen said. "We play a good Colorado team at home. We're really focused in on trying to keep the team in the challenge for a Big 12 championship."