LUBBOCK, Texas _ Another close basketball game. Another loss for Kansas State.
The Wildcats suffered their third gut-wrenching defeat of the season, 66-65 to Texas Tech on Tuesday at United Supermarkets Arena.
This one was every bit as painful as a one-point loss to Maryland and a two-point loss at Kansas. Victory was within K-State's grasp, but it slipped away. The Wildcats led 62-58 with 1 minute, 29 seconds remaining and didn't score again until Barry Brown hit a meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Here's what went wrong: Texas Tech got to the free-throw line a lot, K-State didn't take advantage of its opportunities on offense and two late calls went against it.
No. 25 K-State's best chance to save victory came with 8 seconds remaining, as Brown drove to the basket and attempted a potential go-ahead layup with Texas Tech ahead, 63-62. Brown missed the shot in traffic, but K-State's bench exploded with anger when no foul was called.
Instead of getting the call, a foul was called on K-State forward D.J. Johnson, as well as a technical foul on coach Bruce Weber.
Texas Tech (13-3, 2-2 Big 12) went to the other end of the court and made enough free throws to win. K-State (13-3, 2-2) walked off the floor in agony.
Texas Tech's Keenan Evans led all scores with 18 points. Kamaur Stokes led K-State with 17, while Dean Wade had 12.
This game had the feeling of a nail-biter from the beginning.
K-State opened with momentum when D.J. Johnson scored the first basket on an and-one layup, but Texas Tech scored 12 of the next 17 points.
Oddly, it was two mistakes by Stokes that opened the door for the Red Raiders go on a run. He lost control of the ball on two possessions near midcourt and Texas Tech capitalized with five points off the errors.
But Stokes didn't let that discourage. After both Texas Tech baskets, he demanded the ball back as quickly as possible and scored on the other end. First on a 3-pointer and then on a reverse layup.
Still, Texas Tech led much of the first half as K-State struggled to score. The Wildcats missed 12 of their first 17 shots and trailed 18-12 midway through the first half. K-State stayed in the game with its defense until its shots started to fall.
It was a lengthy process, as the game was temporarily stopped when emergency sirens sounded and lights flashed within the arena. Texas Tech announced a warning to the crowd and both teams went to their benches, but after a brief delay it was declared a false alarm and play resumed.
Stokes gave K-State a 31-28 halftime lead with a 3 on its final possession.
The second half was more of the same, but with different contributors.
After a scoreless first half, Dean Wade came alive and carried K-State in the final 20 minutes. His biggest contributions came moments after it looked like Texas Tech was going to seize control. Keenan Evans made a 3-pointer to give the Red Raiders a 51-50 lead with 7 minutes, 30 seconds remaining, then Wade made back-to-back important plays.
First, he made a deep 3-pointer to put K-State on top 53-50. Then he weaved through Texas Tech defenders for a one-handed slam that gave the Wildcats a two-possession lead.
K-State maintained a lead until the final moments, but Texas Tech refused to go away. This is a team that beat West Virginia on this floor in overtime last week. It didn't back down here, either.
This was the start of a difficult week for K-State.
The Wildcats will next be in action on Saturday against No. 1 Baylor at Bramlage Coliseum.
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