After nearly two months of sorrow, smiles returned to the Kansas State men’s basketball team on Saturday.
The Wildcats ended the longest single-season losing streak in school history with a 62-54 victory over TCU at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
It was the Wildcats’ first victory since they edged Omaha with a last-second shot all the way back on Dec. 29. The win snapped a steak of 13 straight defeats.
K-State emerged victorious thanks to a game-high 16 points from senior guard Mike McGuirl, 12 points from freshman guard Nijel Pack and 10 points from freshman forward Davion Bradford.
Players showed obvious signs of relief when the final buzzer sounded and celebrated for the first time in what had to feel like ages. Many counted out the Wildcats (6-18, 2-13 Big 12) heading into this game, but they played with defensive toughness and made just enough shots to prevail over the Horned Frogs (11-9, 4-7 Big 12).
The Wildcats showed they meant business from the start and took an early lead. They limited TCU to 32% shooting and then made some clutch plays down the stretch.
That is something they haven’t done much of this season.
They will hope to build on it when they return to the court in their next game on Tuesday against Oklahoma.
