Kansas State beats Colorado State 61-56 (+video, photos)

Bruce Weber had a message for his players during a quiet moment of Kansas State’s 61-56 victory against Colorado State on Saturday at Intrust Bank Arena.

“Don’t be heroes,” he screamed. “Move the basketball.”

Weber’s request came early in the second half, about 23 minutes into one of the ugliest games the Wildcats have been involved with this season. Both teams came out cold, needing nearly three minutes to register the game’s opening basket. Bad shots, turnovers and fouls remained prominent until the final buzzer.

Dean Wade led K-State to a 29-25 halftime lead, but his teammates did little to help. Some, including Weber, expected a more lopsided score against an opponent that had lost four straight to Division I opponents and was without top scorer Gian Clavell, who broke his hand earlier this week.

Good defense was only going to carry the Wildcats so far against a team that entered the day averaging 86.5 points. Weber wanted better production out of his motion offense — immediately.

“We just hurt ourself,” Weber said. “We had sticky fingers, too much dribbling, not making that easy pass. We had too many turnovers in the first half. Second half, I thought we were better ... then we went back. It was a tough game. I thought we got a little tentative. I had to keep talking about going out there and making plays.”

Just when it looked like the Rams were in position to steal the game, fighting back from a 13-point deficit and pulling within one possession late, Stephen Hurt made a three and his teammates followed with mid-range shots to clinch victory. The 9,367 in attendance roared with approval.

The Wildcats (8-2) survived against the Rams (6-5) thanks to 13 points from Wade – all scored in the first half – and 12 points from Justin Edwards and 11 points from Wesley Iwundu. Emmanuel Omogbo led Colorado State with 13 points.

If nothing else, K-State continues to prove it has the resolve to win close games, improving to 3-0 in games decided by single digits.

“It is very encouraging,” Edwards said, “because it reminds me if I am not having a good game or if Wesley is not having a good game our teammates are stepping up. They did that today ... they just listen. They are coachable. It’s good.”

Still, Weber wants more.

“Sooner or later we have got to make some improvement,” Weber said, “especially offensively.”

K-State will need to boost its scoring if it hopes to make noise in the rugged Big 12 when conference games begin next month. But its defense is in good shape. The Wildcats didn’t need a message from their coach when the Rams possessed the ball. K-State smothered Colorado State from the beginning and made scoring difficult.

The Rams made 17 of 58 attempts and were 6 of 22 from three-point range. They never found a groove and often took low-percentage shots that were closely guarded.

The Wildcats also struggled from three, going two for 13, but they were more productive inside the arc, making 22 of 51 field goal attempts. Colorado State coach Larry Eustachy thought they played with more confidence than his team.

“Their length bothered us,” Eustachy said. “We lost our best player yesterday and he was our leader, too. So I’m not quite sure we knew what to do, but Kansas State had every answer ... (Weber) has done a terrific job putting this group together. I think it is as well-coached a team as I have seen this year. They really play well together.”

K-State will try to continue its encouraging start on Tuesday against North Dakota at Bramlage Coliseum. Its next three games are at home, and three victories would give the Wildcats loads of momentum before heading back on the road.

They hope this game was the start of a winning streak.

“Knowing that we have to come out with emotion and intenstiy all the time is something we are still trying to build on,” Edwards said. “It is good to learn from wins. This is a good learning experience for us.”

This story was originally published December 19, 2015 at 5:19 PM with the headline "Kansas State beats Colorado State 61-56 (+video, photos)."