The Kansas State men’s basketball team defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers 65-51 Monday evening in the West Virginia Coliseum in a low-scoring matchup.
This was a much needed win for the Wildcats to stay at the top of the Big 12.
The first half was sloppy, but it ended in a 30-28 score in favor of the Wildcats. K-State shot 39 percent and West Virginia shot 38 percent from the floor.
Senior guard Barry Brown and senior forward Dean Wade led the way for the Wildcats offensively in the first half as Brown scored 10 points and Wade scored eight.
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The first half was mostly controlled by the Mountaineers as they held the lead for 11 minutes compared to the five minutes the Wildcats held the lead. The Wildcats got the lead at halftime and never trailed for the rest of the game, although West Virginia tied the game twice.
At 11:55 in the second half, the Mountaineers tied the game up at 42-42 after the Wildcats had the lead for most of the half.
K-State then scored 14 unanswered points over the following four minutes of play and stayed in control for the remainder of the game.
The Wildcats shot a much better 50 percent in the second half, and junior forward Xavier Sneed came alive with 16 points to score a total of 19 points to help take control of the game. Brown finished with 21 points.
The Wildcats have now reached the 20 win mark of the season as they improved to 20-6 and are 10-3 in conference play.
Up next for the Wildcats is the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday in Bramlage Coliseum with tip-off at 3 p.m.
