LAWRENCE, Kansas (Ticker) -- Jacob Pullen and Kansas State crashed
Sherron Collin's farewell party.
Pullen made a free throw and a key jumper in the final 54 seconds
as the fifth-ranked Wildcats scored the final 11 points and
snapped No. 2 Kansas' 59-game home winning streak with a
76-71 Big 12 Conference victory.
"The streak is over now, and we'll start a new one next year,"
Kansas coach Bill Self said. "We promise."
Collins, considered the heart and soul of the Jayhawks, was looking
to end his home career with a victory over his team's biggest
rival. But the heroics of Pullen - a fellow Chicago PG - helped spoil
it as the Wildcats held Kansas (27-3, 13-2) scoreless for
the final 4:19.
"It's real ig for us knowing it's his last game here and we ruined
the streak," Pullen said. "We had to come out and play well and
lplay with the bad guy mentality. He played well, all the
seniors played well. I'm sure they will be ready if we play again in KC or and the NCAAs."
Pullen drove to the basket and was fouled by Marcus Morris with 54
seconds left. He made 1-of-2 at the line to snap a 71-71 tie
and Curtis Kelly came up with the offensive rebound.
Kansas State ran down the shot clock and isolated Pullen on Tyrel Reed.
Pullen drove to the right side of the lane, pulled up and
drilled a jumper for a three-point cushion with 12 seconds to
go.
"When he drove to the basket late and got that shot off over me,
I was there, he just made a big shot," Reed said.
"You could just tell he was starting to feel pretty good," Kansas State coach Frank Martin said.
Denis and Jake are warriors. I wouldn't trade them \ for anyone in
the country."
After a timeout by Kansas, Collins missed a 3-pointer with 13
seconds left. The Jayhawks came up with an offensive rebound and
missed an inside shot before calling another timeout.
With Collins and Brady Morningstar blanketed on the perimeter, the ball was
inbounded to Marcus Morris, who misfired on a
3-pointer with two seconds remaining. Kansas State's Jamar Samuels made
a pair from the line to cap the scoring.
"I don't think I was open," Collins said. "he was on me and we
ran the play. Somebody set a good screen on Pullen but they had Sutton help on me. Brady made a good pass to Marcus and he
just missed the shot. It was a good look for us."
The Jayhawks suffered their first home loss since a 69-66 defeat
to Texas A&M on February 3, 2007.
"It is hard to talk right now," Collins said. "The emotions of the
day were great. The fans showed up and gave us a lot of
support. We played hard. We just didn't get the job done and
that is the disappointing thing about this game."
Reed drilled a 3-pointer for a 71-65 advantage with 4:19
remaining. Denis Clemente answered with a jumper and Curtis Kelly scored
an inside hoop to bring Kansas State within two points.
Kansas' Tyshawn Taylor missed a pair of foul shots and
Rodney McGruder's jumper with 1:29 remaining tied the game. The
Jayhawks had a chance to regain the lead, but Collins
missed one of two free throws with 68 seconds to go.
"This was a tough day," Self said. "Frank has a really, really
good basketball team. Our team will bounce back."
Pullen scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half and also
added 6 assists to lead Kansas State. Denis Clemente added 18 points as
the Wildcats' backcourt outplayed the Jayhawk duo of Collins and
Taylor.
"They got us at our place, we had to come here and get it back," Pullen said.
"Everyone did their part. Everyone made big shots, just like all year.
Curt, Wally stepped up for us, everybody made plays."
Collins made five 3-pointers and finished with 24 points to lead
all scorers, but Taylor struggled, netting 11
points on 3-of-9 shooting, handing out seven assists, but with 6 turnovers.
Kansas never trailed in the first half, taking a 42-34 lead
into the locker room. After Samuels opened the second half with a
layup, Aldrich netted six straight points and Marcus Morris had a
basket for a 50-36 cushion with just under 17 minutes remaining.
Collins' 3-pointer with 13:49 left to play gave Kansas a 58-43
cushion. Collins was held without a field goal over the final six minutes and
the disconsolate senior received words of encouragement from
Martin during the post-game handshakes.
"I told the team that this was the biggest game we've played all
year because of where we are right now," Martin said.
Curtis Kelly netted 11 points and Samuels added 10 and six
rebounds for Kansas State, which won its eigth straight. The
Wildcats had lost four straight to the Sooners coming into the game.
