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(Continued from page 17)
• Marcus Foster had 18 points and Shane Southwell contributed 17 points and six rebounds as Kansas State beat South Dakota 64-62. • Kansas State (6-3) overcame a poor second-half performance from the foul line to top the Coyotes. While holding a 63-62 lead with 2 seconds left, Thomas Gipson converted on the first of two free throws to seal the victory. • "I don't know if I expected it, but I feared it more than anything," Weber said of the closer-than-expected scoring margin. "It was a big emotional win and everybody was telling them how good they are after Mississippi with lots of hype." • Trevor Gruis matched his season high with 18 points for South Dakota (3-6), while Adam Thoseby added a season-high 16. • "It's the way they play," Weber said of South Dakota's rugged, "pack" defense. "They get you to sleep walk. I did it against Wisconsin for years and I did it against Green Bay for years. You've got to learn how to play (against it)." • South Dakota opened strong, charging to a 15-4 lead with 10:59 remaining in the first half. Having returned four of its five starters from last season, the Coyotes used their experience to punish a depleted Kansas State frontcourt with 16 points in the paint in the first half. • The Wildcats twice cut the lead to three but South Dakota maintained a five-point advantage at the break. • "I thought they were a decent transition team, I didn't know if they were a great defensive transition team," South Dakota coach Joey James said. "I knew that they were a very good rebounding team so we tried to use our quickness against their height early on in that game." • Foster's 4-for-7 shooting from 3-point range kept Kansas State within breathing range. • The Coyotes limited the defending Big 12 champions to 32 percent shooting in the first half while also forcing 11 turnovers. • "It's going to the dentist and getting a root canal or getting your teeth pulled, that's what it was like," Weber said of his team's offensive inconsistencies. "It's very frustrating, but the positives are we found a way to win and we made some plays." • Having seen limited offense before the break, Gipson opened up the second half with two consecutive baskets while Omari Lawrence added two of his nine second-half points. • "We called this one a bar fight," Gipson said of the postgame talk in the locker room. "We just had to make the right plays and get stops down the stretch." • Neither team was able to stake its claim on the lead as the second half alone carried 17 lead changes and four ties. • A 3-pointer from Southwell gave the Wildcats a 59-57 advantage with 4:52 left. (Continued on page 19)
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