A late-game offensive surge lifted visiting Marquette over Kansas State 64-63 on Wednesday night in Manhattan, Kan.
After the Golden Eagles’ Kam Jones and the Wildcats’ Ismael Massoud traded 3-pointers with under 35 seconds left, Massoud missed the potential game-winning layup with four seconds remaining to hand Marquette its first road win of the season. The Golden Eagles scored 14 points over the final 10 1/2 minutes and went 7-for-14 from the field during that span.
Jones led Marquette (8-2) with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Justin Lewis added 14 points to go along with nine rebounds, and Darryl Morsell, Kur Kuath, Greg Elliott all had eight points.
With Nijel Pack sidelined due to a concussion, Mark Smith took over the offense for Kansas State (5-3). He notched 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. Massoud added 16 points, and Markquis Nowell finished with 11 points to go along with 11 assists.
The Wildcats went 25 of 64 (39.1 percent) from the field, while Marquette shot 26 of 63 (41.3 percent) on the night.
A 9-2 run to start the second half headlined by Massoud allowed Kansas State to jump out to a six-point lead. The 6-foot-9 forward had seven points during the rally. The lead was short-lived, as the Golden Eagles later responded with a 10-4 run of their own.
Marquette went into the break with a narrow 31-30 lead after Lewis hit a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining in the half. The redshirt freshman tallied 10 points through the first 20 minutes of play, with Smith nearly matching him with nine. Kansas State heated up toward the end of the half, hitting four of its last six shots.
It was a slow start for both teams, as the Golden Eagles started off 5 of 20 from the field and the Wildcats started 6 of 18 through the first 12 minutes of action. Marquette also failed to get to the free throw line in the first half and drew only two fouls.
–Field Level Media
