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AMES, Iowa — Anytime Denis Clemente makes back-to-back shots, his first instinct is to try and make a third. Like any aggressive shooter, there is nothing he desires more in that moment.
So after sinking two straight three-pointers in the second half of No. 10 Kansas State's 79-75 victory against Iowa State on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum, it was only natural that Clemente raced down court and lined up for another trey the moment he was in range.
But unlike past games, when it has seemed nothing could deter him from hoisting up another jumper, the shot never came. After lining up his shoulders and jumping into the air, Clemente felt he was too heavily guarded. He passed the ball away, and Jamar Samuels hit a driving layup seconds later.
The sequence of plays came in the middle of a game-altering 19-3 Wildcats run and defined Clemente's remarkable afternoon. Not only did he score a season-high 30 points and lead his team to an important road win, he showed a new level of maturity along the way.
"Denis wants to win," K-State coach Frank Martin said. "You guys have heard me say that before. That's all he cares about. There's a reason our team plays with a certain spirit since he started wearing the uniform. That's who he is."
Clemente, a senior guard who is no stranger to high scoring games, didn't have much to say about his decision to forego the shot, noting only that it was the right play to make.
Instead, he chose to speak about the epiphany he experienced earlier in the week, which led to the decision: He doesn't have much time left at K-State.
"I've only got seven games left in my college basketball career," Clemente said. "That makes me sad. I just be thinking sometimes, I better put everything I got into this."
Martin says Clemente is certainly giving his all.
"Denis shoots 5 million shots a day," Martin said. "He's the first guy in the gym and the last guy to leave. You hear people say that, well that's who he is. When we broke practice at Bramlage, I had to run him off the court because he was still out there shooting. Then last night when we got in here I had to run him off the floor because he was still shooting.
"He's got unbelievable pride and unbelievable work ethic."
He scored 23 points against Nebraska earlier in the week, the first team all season he’s had at least 20 in back-to-back games.
"He's on a pretty good streak," said Curtis Kelly, who scored 15 points. "I don't see him cooling off."
Neither does Iowa State coach Greg McDermott.
"He’s a senior and that’s what you want your seniors to do: Step up when you are needed," McDermott said. "Because we took a big part of their offense away by limiting their offensive rebounds, he stepped up. He’s a load and every time we made a mistake, he made us pay for it.”
Clemente did most of his damage from beyond the three-point line — he made six of eight shots from deep.
Even with that production, it wasn't until the second half that K-State (19-4 overall and 6-3 in Big 12 play) gained the upper hand. Early on, Iowa State (13-10, 2-6) looked poised to pull the upset.
Behind the strong play of forward Craig Brackins, who scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, the Cyclones took a lead. And thanks to a smothering defense that held K-State to its lowest first-half shooting percentage of the season (30.6), ISU went into halftime up 35-31.
The Wildcats started the second half by giving up a layup to Scott Christopherson, but then everything changed. Jacob Pullen, who scored 15 points, made two free throws, Dominique Sutton hit a layup and Clemente drained his back-to-back threes.
Shortly after making his key pass to Samuels, K-State was creating turnovers, throwing down uncontested dunks and riding a 19-3 run. Up 50-40 with less than 15 minutes remaining, the Wildcats had a lead they would never relinquish.
"We started off the first half sluggish, not together, not sharing the ball," Kelly said. "But then we came out in the second half and were together. We played some really great ball."
It was good enough for K-State to win for the first time this season while trailing at halftime, and win its fourth straight on the road.
When he was told of those accomplishments, Pullen smiled and immediately thought of Clemente. He believes K-State and its hot-shooting guard are beginning to show the same qualities.
"It shows that we're a mature team," Pullen said, "that we're able to stay together and stay the course. No matter how far down we are, we can stay focused in and do what we need to do to win on the road."
