National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Kansas St. 77, Oklahoma St. 58
When: 1:45 PM ET, Saturday, March 3, 2012
Where: Fred Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, Kansas
Officials: # Rick Hartzell, # Randy Heimerman, # Keith Kimble
Attendance: 12528

Kansas State 77, Oklahoma State 58: Rodney McGruder had a game-high 24 points and Jamar Samuels added 17 points and 12 rebounds as Kansas State cruised to the victory over the Cowboys.

The Wildcats (21-9, 10-8 Big 12), who had dropped four home games in conference play for the first time since 2005-06, took care of this one early. Behind a 51-percent shooting day, they took a 40-33 lead into halftime and stretched the advantage to 62-42 midway through the second half on a McGruder jumper.

McGruder scored 14 of his points in the second half, converting 10-of-14 shots, including four 3-pointers. Jordan Henriquez, two games removed from a career-high 19-point effort, added 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Wildcats, who can secure a fifth-place finish in the Big 12 standings if Texas loses at No. 4 Kansas.

Oklahoma State (14-17, 7-11 Big 12), meanwhile, lost for the third time in four games and will carry a No. 7 seed into next week’s Big 12 Tournament, where it will take on Texas Tech in the opening round.

Keiton Page, playing the final regular-season game of his career, had a team-high 22 points for the Cowboys, who were outrebounded 35-26 and committed 19 turnovers against K-State’s pressure man-to-man defense. Cezar Guerrero added 15 off the bench.

Oklahoma State started fast, taking a 29-28 lead with 6:59 left in the first half. But the Wildcats responded with a 12-4 run, and then took control early in the second half.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Kansas State defeated the Cowboys for just the second time in the last five home meetings … The Cowboys now lead the all-time series 13-5 since the Big 12’s inception in 1996 … K-State, which won its 10th league game for the fifth time in the last six seasons, has already secured a bye in the Big 12 Tournament … The margin of victory was the second largest of the season for the Wildcats against a conference opponent.
Top Game Performances
 
Oklahoma St.   Kansas St.
Keiton Page 22 Scoring Rodney McGruder 24
Michael Cobbins 5 Assists Will Spradling 7
Michael Cobbins 7 Rebounds Jamar Samuels 12
Cezar Guerrero 2 Free Throws Made Angel Rodriguez 5
Keiton Page 4 Steals Angel Rodriguez 3
Michael Cobbins 1 Blocks Jordan Henriquez 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Oklahoma St. 58 46.0 8-17 4-10 16 26 1 8 19
Kansas St. 77 51.7 6-22 11-16 21 35 3 8 11