Kansas State gets narrow 68-66 win over South Carolina State
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Justin Edwards scored 18 points, including four key free throws in the final 17 seconds, and Kansas State avoided an upset bid by South Carolina State, 68-66 on Sunday.
The Bulldogs pulled within 64-61 with 21 seconds remaining on an Ed Stephens 3-pointer -- one of five for him on the day -- but Edwards sealed the game at the line on two separate occasions.
Dean Wade finished with 12 points and Wesley Iwundu 11. Stephen Hurt tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds to go along with 2 assists for Kansas State (5-1).
Stephens scored 24 points and Eric Eaves 21 for South Carolina State (3-4). Together, they accounted for 68 percent of the Bulldogs' scoring on 15 of 28 shooting, including 7 of 13 from beyond the arc.
Kansas State trailed 21-16 with 8:20 left in the opening half when it sparked a 20-9 run to close out the first period to take a 36-30 halftime lead. Iwundu threw down a highlight reel dunk on an alley-oop from Kamau Stokes early in the run, and later split the defense on a one-handed pass to Edwards to cap off the rally and give the Wildcats their biggest lead of the first half.
South Carolina State shot 46 percent from the field in the first half, but ended just 2 of 8. The Wildcats completed 15 of 30 shots and grabbed 21 rebounds by the break.
The Bulldogs kept it close for most of the second half after Iwundu rattled off three straight buckets and dished out an assist to Stokes for a 3-pointer to extend Kansas State's halftime lead to 50-39 with 15:07 left.
Both teams struggled shooting the ball for much of the second half, shooting a combined 3 of 18 during one stretch. The 3-point ball kept South Carolina State in the game, as the Bulldogs shot 38 percent from deep.
Kansas State overcame 17 turnovers and poor rebounding.
