ISU completes 72-70 comeback win over Kansas State with last-second shot

AMES - The clock ticked toward zero.

Iowa State's Royce White dribbled, then made his move as pleading words echoed his mind.

“I was praying they wouldn't foul me,” the star forward said.

“They” were Kansas State's players.

And they didn't do that late Tuesday night, as the 6-8, 270-pound White stormed the baseline, turned and sank a short running jumper with 1.8 seconds left to punctuate the Cyclones' 72-70 comeback win over the Big 12 rival Wildcats.

The crowd of 13,456 rose to its feet and screamed its approval.

White and his teammates turned tail and prepared to play defense, but Kansas State's Will Spradling couldn't get off a shot before the buzzer sounded.

“Right after (White) hit that shot, instead of us celebrating like we probably did in the past, everybody's down,” said ISU guard Chris Allen, who scored nine of his 15 points during a second-half surge that erased a 14-point deficit in the final 14:27. “That was the first thing I did was look at everybody to make sure everybody was down and ready, just in case they got a long pass. And everybody's eyes (were) intense; just down and ready.”

Not quite prepared to talk about a potential return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004-05, though.

“No, not yet,” Coach Fred Hoiberg said.

The Cyclones (16-6, 6-3) emerged victorious despite being dominated most of the game in rebounding and loose ball situations by the physical Wildcats (15-6, 4-5).

White scored a game-high 22 points with eight rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.

He also shot 1-for-5 from the free throw line after shining from the stripe down the stretch of Saturday's 72-64 win over conference-leading Kansas.

Hence the “don't foul me” prayer.

“I did call that play to get him coming off a ball screen and he said, ‘Coach, what if they foul me?' ” Hoiberg said. “I said, ‘Well, step up and knock down the free throws.' I didn't think they would foul him and he made a great play.”

ISU stands alone in fourth place in the Big 12 one half-season removed from finishing in the cellar at 3-13 in league play.

The Cyclones have won two of their last five games with buzzer-beating shots and now seem to thrive in adverse situations, not shrink from them.

“We kind of got punched in the mouth first,” White said. “And to come back and win the fight, you've got to be mentally tough.”

Melvin Ejim - who had three of the Cyclones' nine offensive rebounds - snagged the board off Chris Babb's missed free throw after he'd tied the game at 70-70, setting up White' heroics.

Percy Gibson came off the bench and played valuable minutes after sitting out the Kansas game.

Babb held K-State leading scorer Rodney McGruder to 11 points, four below his average.

And Allen ignited the rally with a hustle rebound and pair of free throws that made the score 60-55 with 8:32 left.

“I was just trying to stay moving, stay active,” said Allen, who had scored three points in each of the previous two games and overcame Tuesday foul trouble.

White kept moving, too - soaring for three dunks and burying a 17-footer while vexing Wildcat defenders all night long.

“He's a nightmare of a matchup,” said Kansas State coach Frank Martin, whose team had won an almost unheard-of five straight at Hilton. “Our kids tried to guard him.”

KANSAS ST. (15-6)

Rodriguez 4-7 0-1 8, McGruder 5-16 0-0 11, Samuels 4-6 1-1 11, Gipson 5-7 3-3 13, Spradling 2-6 1-2 6, Southwell 0-0 1-2 1, Irving 4-5 0-0 11, Ojeleye 1-5 1-2 3, Diaz 3-3 0-0 6, Henriquez 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 28-58 7-11 70.

IOWA ST. (16-6)

Babb 3-5 1-2 8, Ejim 3-4 0-0 6, Allen 5-8 2-2 15, Christopherson 1-6 9-11 11, White 10-17 2-7 22, Booker 0-1 2-2 2, Gibson 2-3 1-2 5, McGee 1-5 0-0 3. Totals 25-49 17-26 72.

Halftime_Kansas St. 36-29. 3-Point Goals_Kansas St. 7-12 (Irving 3-3, Samuels 2-2, McGruder 1-2, Spradling 1-3, Ojeleye 0-1, Rodriguez 0-1), Iowa St. 5-11 (Allen 3-4, McGee 1-3, Babb 1-3, Booker 0-1). Fouled Out_Rodriguez. Rebounds_Kansas St. 34 (Ojeleye 10), Iowa St. 31 (White 8). Assists_Kansas St. 14 (Rodriguez, Spradling 5), Iowa St. 9 (Christopherson, White 4). Total Fouls_Kansas St. 21, Iowa St. 16. A_13,456.

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