8B SPORTS
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10. 2009
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Kansas State guard Jacob Pullen shoots while covered by Xavier forward Jamir McLean Tuesday in Manhattan. Pullen scored 16 points to lead Kansas State to a 71-56 win over Xavier. The student crowd was the largest of the season, despite snow conditions.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Snowy weather doesn't deter Kansas State against Xavier
BY JOHN MARSHALL Associated Press
MANHATTAN, Kan. — With a monster winter storm swirling outside, Kansas State was greeted by the largest student section of the season.
Two hours later, after grinding out a win they desperately wanted, the Wildcats went on a victory lap, high-
King as many students as they could touch.
The message:
Thanks for making a big win even better.
Jacob Pullen scored all but two of his 16 points in the second half and Kansas State earned revenge two years in the making, outmuscling Xavier for
a 71-56 victory in front of a surprisingly rowdy crowd on a snowy Tuesday night.
"I expected to see 10 people out there. There was a blizzard outside
Embarrassed the last time these teams met, Kansas State (8-1) was intent on getting retribution. The Wildcats did with a defense that hounded Xavier into a poor shooting night and a dominating performance inside.
— I wouldn't have come to the game if I wasn't playing," Pullen said. "For them to show that much support, it's a lot. They could have easily watched it on TV like a lot of other people did, but instead they came out and gave us that home tone advantage that we needed tonight."
Kansas State outrebounded the Musketeers 27-8 in the first half and scored 16 points off 14 offensive rebounds overall to overcome 17 missed free throws and a 4-for-17 night from 3-point range.
"I expected to see 10 people out there. There was a blizzard outside — I wouldn't have come to the game if I wasn't playing."
Jamar Samuels had 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Curtis Kelly added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Wildcats, who have put together consecutive impressive wins after
JACOBPULLEN Kansas State guard
two lackluster games.
"They just made our RPI better," Samuels said.
Xavier (5-3) was no match inside for Kansas State in a physical start-and-stop game that featured 57 fouls.
The Musketeers had two scoring droughts of six minutes or more and shot 29 percent, including 5
of 17 from 3-point
range. Brad Redford
and Jordan Crawford
had 16 points each
for Xavier, which was
outrebounded by 13
and outscored by 10
in the paint.
"It came down to toughness and readiness," Xavier guard Dante Jackson said. "They were ready. They punched us in the mouth and just
kept punching us and punching us
We kind of took it."
The last time these teams met,
New Year's Eve 2007 in Cincinnati,
Xavier beat the Wildcats 103-77, still
the worst loss in Kansas State coach
Frank Martin's tenure.
The circumstances surrounding it
made the loss seem much worse. Star freshman Michael Beasley forgot his shoes and had to borrow a pair. The Musketeers told jokes at the free-throw line while Kansas State tried to mount a comeback. The fans were ruthless.
"It came down to toughness and readiness. They were ready."
Kansas State has just four players left from that game — three who played — but they remember and made sure the younger players knew minutes after beating Washington State on Saturday, still in the locker room, the Wildcats were already talking about Xavier.
Not surprisingly, the game was tense and physical from the start.
DANTE JACKSON
Xavier guard
Every possession was a grind,
nearly every shot contested.
with lots of wrestling in the post,
jaw-rattling screens and players hitting
the floor nearly every trip.
After eight minutes, Xavier led 7-4. It didn't get a whole lot better after that.
Struggling against Kansas State's pressure, Xavier managed just four free throws over the final 7:15 of the first half, shooting 6-for-21 to trail by 10. Kansas State's fans had better airtn at halftime, throwing about 200 paper airplanes onto the court as part of a promotion.
The Musketeers were hurt by offensive rebounding, too, and were outscored 11-0 on second-chance points after Kansas State grabbed 11 offensive boards.
"There are certain areas that we have to bring every night," Xavier coach Chris Mack said. "I thought Kansas State really set the tone against our team in the first half with their offensive rebounding effort. It was the story line of the game."
Crawford broke Xavier's basket-less streak with consecutive hoops early in the second half. The Musketeers followed with another fruitless run, this one lasting nearly
six minutes as Kansas State pushed the lead to 46-30.
The Wildcats still weren't about to let up.
Senior Chris Merriewet, one of the players left over from the loss in Cincinnati, scrambled for a loose ball to keep possession.
then landed in a row of photographers to save a ball from going out of boards. Pullen followed with a 3-pointer that made it 52-37.
Once it was over, the entire team wenton the victory lap, snaking behind the media table to celebrate with fans who braved the cold and blowing snow to support their team.