MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State got a season-high 38 points from its reserves to run its home court winning streak to a Bramlage Coliseum-record 15 games with an 80-73 win over No. 15/17 Iowa State before a sold-out crowd on Saturday evening.
The victory also gave K-State (20-9, 10-6 Big 12) 20 for a school-record eighth consecutive season and 10 in conference play for the fifth straight season. The Wildcats have now won 10 of their last 13 meetings against ranked teams on their home court, including five in a row this season.
The 15-game home court winning streak is the longest at a home venue since the Wildcats rattled off 20 in a row at Ahearn Field House from Jan. 28, 1981 to Jan. 30, 1982. The squad is now one win away from going unbeaten at home in league play for first time since the 1974-75 team went 7-0 in Big Eight play.
“Obviously, this a really good team win for us,” said head coach Bruce Weber. “They had two special players tonight in (Melvin) Ejim and (DeAndre) Kane, who are two of the best players in the Big 12. We had major foul trouble in the first half and probably the key to the game was our bench points, 38-2. We had some unconventional lineups in there. They did not go down. They kept battling. One of our goals was to hold them under 70. We did not quite make it, but we had good stops down the stretch.”
Senior Shane Southwell led five Wildcats in double figures with a team-high 13 points, which included four 3-point field goals, while junior Thomas Gipson and sophomore D.J. Johnson each added 12 points. Freshmen Marcus Foster and Wesley Iwundu also were in double figures with 11 points each.
