‘He had great poise’: How Kansas State guard Nijel Pack defeated OSU with clutch play

Nijel Pack could finally celebrate.

The sophomore guard made a deep three-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining to lift the Kansas State men’s basketball team to a thrilling 71-68 victory over Oklahoma State on Wednesday at Bramlage Coliseum, and it’s fair to say it was the most enjoyable moment of his young college career.

He raised his right hand into the air after he saw the ball swish through the net. He pointed to the roaring home crowd when the game went final. Then he danced with teammates on his way to the locker room.

“I’m glad to be able to make one ... finally,” Pack said afterward.

Pack isn’t the type of player who pats himself on the back after a loss. Even when he scored a whopping 35 points against rival Kansas earlier this season, he said things like “it doesn’t matter” and “no one will remember it” because he missed a three-pointer with the game on the line and the Wildcats lost. It was the same story when he scored 21 points in a defeat against Texas and 20 points in a loss at West Virginia.

He won’t let himself enjoy an individual performance, no matter how excellent it is, unless he helps his team win.

Well, there was no reason for him to hang his head on this night. Pack scored a game-high 22 points, grabbed three rebounds, came up with three steals and hit the type of clutch shot that not only wins games but goes viral on social media.

“I was sitting there watching his shot like this,” senior K-State guard Mark Smith said while tilting his head back. “It didn’t even touch the rim.”

Here is how it happened.

Funny thing about game-winning plays: They don’t always go according to plan. This one certainly didn’t. That much was obvious when Markquis Nowell lobbed his inbound pass to Pack all the way from the base line to mid court. That was not how K-State coach Bruce Weber drew it up.

Weber called a play designed to get a quick shot for Pack in the corner, but the Wildcats had called that same play earlier in the game and the Cowboys were prepared to stop it. When the right corner was congested, Pack improvised and cut away from the basket in order to get open.

Pack caught Nowell’s pass with 6.6 seconds remaining, but he was a long way from the rim and Oklahoma State’s Isaac Likekele was ready to challenge any shot.

What to do? Pack had been in this situation before, most recently missing a contested three-pointer in the final seconds against Kansas. It was a good look, he just missed it short off the rim. He didn’t let that play haunt him and tried something similar against the Cowboys. He took a few dribbles, forced Likekele to retreat and fired away from well beyond the NBA three-point line.

Only this time, he made it.

“I wasn’t even looking really where I was at,” Pack said. “That was the same kind of shot I had against Kansas, just on the other side of the floor. It was kind of deep, but I was confident in the shot. (Likekele) started backing up, so I knew I could get the separation that I wanted. I followed through and it went in.”

His teammates never had a doubt.

“I was thinking whoever shot the ball it was going in,” senior guard Mike McGuirl said. “He got it and I figured he was going to shoot it. I figured he was going to make it, too.”

Weber was glad the play didn’t go exactly according to plan, because this version left Oklahoma State with much less time to respond than a perfectly executed catch-and-shoot three from the corner.

Pack has been playing at an all-conference level this season, averaging 16.6 points and establishing himself as K-State’s best all-around player. But he didn’t have a signature moment to celebrate.

Until now.

“He had great poise this time and made made a big shot,” Weber said of Pack. “Players make you a good coach. You can draw up great plays, but if they jump up and make shots and make plays it obviously helps.”

This story was originally published February 3, 2022 at 5:00 AM.

Kellis Robinett

The Wichita Eagle

Kellis Robinett covers Kansas State athletics for The Wichita Eagle and The Kansas City Star. A winner of more than a dozen national writing awards, he lives in Manhattan with his wife and four children.