Markquis Nowell scored 18 points to lead No. 12 Kansas State to an 82-61 victory over No. 17 TCU on Tuesday night in Manhattan, Kan.
K-State (19-5, 7-4 Big 12) concluded the game with a 17-2 run to earn a season split with TCU and move within a game of first-place Texas in the Big 12. The Wildcats are tied with Kansas, a half-game behind Iowa State.
K-State had four other players in double figures. Keyontae Johnson and Desi Sills had 14 points, Tykei Greene added 13 and David N’Guessan had 10.
Nowell hit a short jumper midway through the first half to record his 1,700th career point. He spent the first three years of his career at Arkansas-Little Rock before debuting last season with K-State. Nowell passed Steve Henson’s school record with his 187th assist of the season late in the game.
TCU (17-7, 6-5) was led by Damion Baugh’s 14 points. Micah Peavy and Jakobe Coles scored 11 each, and Emanuel Miller added 10.
The Horned Frogs played without preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Mike Miles Jr. He suffered a hyperextended knee Jan. 28 against Mississippi and missed his third straight game.
K-State used a 13-2 run early in the second half to open up a 13-point lead. TCU got within six points at 65-59 with 4:49 left. But a 12-0 run iced the game for the Wildcats.
Johnson, who picked up two fouls in a little more than a minute of Saturday’s loss to Texas, collected two offensive fouls in the first half Tuesday. His second, with just over 10 minutes left in the half, forced him to the bench for all but about 10 seconds the rest of the half.
Nowell scored 10 points in the first half to lead the Wildcats, who led 36-30 at intermission. K-State had just six turnovers in the half.
TCU put together a balanced scoring attack, with Jakobe Coles and Peavy notching seven points each and Miller and Xavier Cork adding six apiece.
–Field Level Media
