Kansas State Defeats Iowa State Behind Late Play of Jacob Pullen

Well it definitely was not easy but Frank Martin and his Kansas State squad got exactly what they needed: a conference road victory. Jacob Pullen hit a game winning layup with 2.6 seconds left to give the Wildcats the 86-85 win.

Iowa State looked to possibly have the game under control with just over three minutes left when a Scott Christopherson jumper gave the Cyclones a six point lead.

Pullen would not be denied though as he put the Wildcats on his back in the closing minutes. The senior scored eight points in the final two and a half minutes.

Trailing 85-81 with 53 second left Pullen hit a three pointer to close the gap to a single point. With a little under twenty seconds left Diante Garrett missed a chance to push the lead back to three, Pullen pushed the ball up the court and Frank Martin took a timeout to discuss the strategy. His decision was simply get the ball to Pullen and let him create off a high screen whch he did.

The Cyclones had one last chance but a Jame Vanderbeken desperation three pointer did not connect at the buzzer.

The win moves K-State to 16-8 overall and 4-5 in the conference while the Cyclones decline continues as they have now lost six straight conference games.

The Cyclones put themselves in a position to win by getting to the free throw line twice as many times as K-State. The Wildcats on the other hand played the role of Iowa State by taking 27 three point attempts and hitting 14 of them.

Pullen led K-State with 21 points while Garrett had 23 points to combine with fellow senior Christopherson who had 22 points.