Kansas State used a suffocating defense over the final seven minutes of the first half to gain a comfortable margin, and cruised through the second half to defeat Gardner-Webb 67-54 on Wednesday night at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan.

The Wildcats finished the first half with a 19-1 run.

Gardner-Webb came into the game fresh off a road victory over Nebraska, but the Wildcats let the Bulldogs know that there would be no repeat.

Gardner-Webb scored the first nine points of the second half to cut the lead to eight, but the Bulldogs could not take further advantage. In fact, neither team could get much going offensively in the second half. The Bulldogs only outscored the Wildcats 11-8 prior to the second media timeout.

Kansas State's largest lead was at 60-41 with 6:12 remaining in the second half. It marked the 11th time in 12 games the Wildcats have held a lead of at least 19 points.

Kansas State (11-1) was led by Kamau Stokes with 18 points. D.J. Johnson added 16 on 8-for-8 shooting from the field. Nobody else reached double figures for the Wildcats.

Gardner-Webb (7-6) was led by Jamaal Robateau with 17 points and Tyrell Nelson with 14.

The Bulldogs missed their first six shots before making 10 of their next 11. But another slump allowed the Wildcats to rattle off an 11-0 spurt to take a 33-23 lead. The Wildcats stretched the lead to 41-24 at halftime, after holding the Bulldogs without a field goal (0 of 11) in the final 7:02.

Neither team shot particularly well in the first half. Kansas State shot at a 44.8 percent clip, while the streaky Bulldogs shot 35.7 percent.

The Wildcats were led by Stokes and Johnson with 12 points apiece. Nelson led Gardner-Webb with seven points in the first half.