Game matched up two of the Big 12’s best scorers in Terrence Brown and P.J. Haggerty — and they put on a show.
Utah’s pursuit of a second straight Big 12 win came up short, as the Runnin’ Utes fell 81-78 to Kansas State at the Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas, on Tuesday night.
Utah had opportunities to tie the game on its final two possessions, but Don McHenry made just 1 of 2 free throws on the first possession and Terrence Brown missed a 3-pointer on the Utes’ last-gasp try to tie it.
Here are three takeaways from the loss that moved Utah’s record to 9-10 overall, 1-5 in Big 12 play.
A showcase of two high scorers
Tuesday’s matchup featured two of the Big 12 top scorers in Utah’s Brown and Kansas State’s P.J. Haggerty, the latter of whom led the league in scoring going into the night at 22.8 points per game, while Brown was third at 21.6.
That matchup absolutely delivered.
Brown scored 14 points in the first half, shooting 6 of 11 with a pair of 3-pointers to go with three rebounds and an assist.
Haggerty got off to a slower start with six first-half points on 3 of 11 shooting, though he added four rebounds and four assists.
Then, they both turned it up a notch in the second half — especially Haggerty.
Haggerty scored 28 of his game-high 34 points in the second half, while shooting 12 of 18 from the floor. That included the go-ahead jumper with 39 seconds to play to give the Wildcats the lead for good.
Haggerty also had eight rebounds, four assists and two steals in the win.
Brown, meanwhile, scored 33 points on the night, shooting 14 of 24 from the field and 4 of 7 from 3.
He added four rebounds, two assists and four steals, though he accounted for six of Utah’s nine turnovers.
It was fitting that both players had the ball in their hands at the end of a thrilling game.
3-point shooting a key
One of the few statistics wherein there was a clear winner was 3-point shooting, and it favored the Wildcats.
David Castillo, who was in the starting lineup for injured guard Abdi Bashir Jr., broke his career-high for made 3s with six. He hit 5 of 7 before the break, helping him put up 17 first-half points.
The Wildcats shot 10 of 18 from 3 in the first half, which included Nate Johnson hitting 3 of 4 and Andrej Kostic 2 of 3.
By game’s end, the Wildcats made 12 of 23 from 3-point range, while Utah was 8 of 23.
That played a key role in Kansas State’s win, as it helped the Wildcats overcome losing the rebounding battle 34-29 to Utah and the Utes outscoring the Wildcats 40-32 in the paint.
Utah got help in the front court
With Utah forward Keanu Dawes dealing with a foot injury and being held scoreless (though he did finish with seven rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot), the Utes had to rely on some other players to step up.
Seydou Traore had his second straight double-digit scoring game with 15 points, and he added six rebounds, a blocked shot and a steal.
Josh Hayes also had one of his best games of the season in the paint, scoring nine points on 4 of 5 shooting while adding three rebounds and a block.
It just wasn’t enough to overcome Kansas State, who also got 20 points from Castillo and 17 from Johnson.
Category: General Sports
