MANHATTAN, Kansas — Tylor Perry scored eight of his 26 points in overtime and Kansas State beat No. 4 Kansas 75-70 on Monday night in the 300th meeting of their heated rivalry.
“It was a fun atmosphere,” Perry said. “Our fans did a very good job of setting the stage and setting the mood for the game. Kansas is obviously a very good basketball team. Everyone was excited to play. I feel like we came out, we did what we had to do.” to achieve victory.”
Perry's 3-pointer with 1:54 left gave the Wildcats a 70-66 lead. Hunter Dickinson's basket cut the score to 70-68, but Perry's two free throws extended the margin to four.
Dajuan Harris Jr. cut the score to 72-70 with two free throws before Kevin McCullar Jr. missed the start of a 1-and-1 for Kansas with 22 seconds left. Arthur Kaluma made a pair of free throws and Perry added another to seal the score, ending Kansas State's four-game losing streak.
“I thought they were the most athletic and explosive team,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “I thought we also showed moments where we were. But the bottom line is it all comes down to making free throws.”
Kansas State is 6-0 in overtime this season and 11-0 in coach Jerome Tang's two seasons in Manhattan.
“In overtime, it's about players making plays,” Tang said. “They don't feel the pressure. We work on it every day in practice, but I don't know if that's necessarily the reason. I think guys just make plays and their confidence level grows.”
Cam Carter had 19 points and 11 rebounds for K-State (15-8, 5-5 Big 12). Kaluma added 13 points and eight rebounds.
Dickinson had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead Kansas (18-5, 6-4). Harris and McCullar each added 15 points, and KJ Adams Jr. scored 13.
Kansas scored the first nine points of the second half to open its largest lead of 41-30. But the Wildcats scored the next 11, capped by a Carter three-point play.
“I think our guys did a great job,” Tang said of his team's response. “[Perry] He had an 8-0 run on his own. But the boys refocused. The fact that we were able to turn the game back into a ball game and put pressure on them on the scoreboard helped us.”
Perry made three free throws with 4:49 left in regulation to give K-State a three-point lead. Dickinson scored inside, but Carter answered from long range to give the Wildcats a 58-54 lead.
Harris scored a layup to tie the score with 2:14 left, and McCullar's layup gave Kansas a 62-60 lead with 1:47 left. Perry tied it again with a layup.
Kaluma's return with 23 seconds left was answered by an Adams basket with 14.2 seconds left to send the game to overtime.
“I thought we had it,” Harris said. “I remember two years ago when we came back in overtime. I've been there, the coach has been there before. I thought we had the game, but they can compete too, you know.”
Kansas State made five 3-pointers in the first half, but went to the locker room trailing 32-30.
