In a game where where #3 ranked Kansas State was forced to play without Jacob Pullen for the majority of the first half, the Wildcats found a way to pull away from a scrappy 23rd ranked Virginia Tech team and win 73-57. The win improves KSU to 2-0 on the young season while Virginia Tech goes to 1-1.
Jacob Pullen was hit with two early fouls by the 18:33 mark in the first half and was forced to take a seat. He re-entered the game later in the first half for only a brief time before being hit with his 3rd foul well before halftime and being forced to sit until the second half.
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The Wildcats were forced to rely on others besides Pullen and Curtis Kelly, who did not play for the 2nd straight contest. Martavious Irving hit three big 3 pointers in the second half as the Wildcats pulled away from the Hokies in a game where the Wildcats only held a 1 point halftime lead of 30-29.
The Hokies led 41-38 with 13:23 left to go in the game before K-State went on a closing run highlighted by Irving's deep shooting to finish with a decisive double digit victory.
Jordan Henriquez-Roberts added 10 points and 8 rebounds while getting over 20 minutes of playing time with Kelly out of the lineup. Pullen came back from his early foul trouble to finish in double figures with 13 points while his counterpart for Virginia Tech, Malcolm Delaney had a strong game with 22 points.
Some other notable contributions for K-State were from Rodney McGruder who played 31 minutes and finished with 13 points. Freshman Will Spradling who was forced into action with Pullen on the bench displayed strong defense in his 27 minutes of game action.
In a game marred by fouls, the Wildcats once again struggled from the charity stripe, converting on only 14-28 attempts. This is definitely an area that Wildcat fans may have to learn to deal with over the course of the season as it doesn't appear to be improving in the regular season.
Jamar Samuels did play in the contest despite some rumors saying he may not be available with an apparent eye injury still bothering him.
Kansas State will take on Presbyterian in their next contest this Thursday before traveling to Kansas City to take on Gonzaga in the Sprint Center on November 22nd.
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