Kansas State Stuns No. 18 Dayton In Puerto Rico Tip-Off

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Jacob Pullen posted a game-high 26 points and Denis Clemente added 21, as Kansas State held off 18th-ranked Dayton, 83-75, in the final round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

Neither team shot particularly well from the foul line, but Kansas State’s 27- of-44 effort trumped Dayton’s 16-of-27 performance from the stripe.

Jamar Samuels went for 12 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats (4-1), who were coming off a loss to Ole Miss on Friday.

Chris Johnson paced the Flyers (2-2) with 16 points, while Chris Wright ended with 15 points and 10 boards in the team’s second straight loss, the other coming against nationally ranked Villanova on Friday. Marcus Johnson netted 14 points in defeat.

A stretch of seven straight Kansas State points was immediately followed by an 8-0 run from its counterpart, as Wright’s putback dunk cut the Flyers’ deficit to 68-65 with 3:15 to play.

Curtis Kelly and Pullen pushed the difference to seven with consecutive buckets, and Paul Williams hit a three at the other end before it essentially became a foul-shooting competition in the final two minutes.

After Dominique Sutton went 1-for-2 from the stripe with 37.5 seconds left to put Kansas State ahead 79-75, Mickey Perry missed an open three in the left corner for the Flyers.

Clemente was fouled intentionally and hit 1-of-2 freebies, and Pullen’s two makes from the line were followed by Chris Johnson’s missed three-ball that effectively sealed the game.

Kelly’s two free throws at the 11:23 mark of the first half capped a 9-0 spurt for a 18-10 edge. Kansas State held a similar lead through the rest of the half, eventually taking a 35-28 edge into the locker room.

Clemente capped eight straight Wildcats points with a three-pointer near the 14-minute mark for a 50-35 advantage.

The Flyers kept inching back, cutting the lead to 57-51 on a Chris Johnson trey just past the midway point of the half.

Williams ended with 10 points for Dayton, which made 45.6 percent of its shots from the floor…Sutton ended with eight points and seven boards for the Wildcats, who connected on 48.1 percent of their shots.

Via Sports Network