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Manhattan Mayhem: Pullen's career night gets K-State by No. 1 Kansas

Feb 15, 2011 - 6:32 AM Manhattan, KS (Sports Network) - Jacob Pullen picked the right night to have the best game of his career, as the senior guard dropped 38 points to help Kansas State take down top-ranked Kansas, 84-68.

Pullen went 5-of-6 from beyond the arc for the Wildcats (17-9, 5-6 Big 12), who improved to 4-13 all-time against the No. 1 team in the country. In fact, this was the ninth time that Kansas State played the Jayhawks as the nation's top-ranked team dating back to 1957. Kansas had won seven of those previous eight matchups.

Jordan Henriquez-Roberts and Rodney McGruder each tallied 10 points for the Wildcats, who bounced back from a heart-breaking 58-56 loss to Colorado on Saturday.

Tyrel Reed and Marcus Morris had 14 and 13 points, respectively, for the Jayhawks (24-2, 9-2), who had a six-game winning streak snapped.

Kansas, which had won its previous seven games against Kansas State, passed Ohio State in the rankings earlier in the day due to the Buckeyes' loss to Wisconsin on Saturday.

The Jayhawks' only other loss this season came against Texas on January 22.

"That was a beat down," Kansas head coach Bill Self said. "I thought they controlled the game from the opening tip. Possession by possession they beat us in every aspect of the game."

Holding a 12-10 edge with 13:32 left in the first half, Kansas State put together a 12-1 run to create some distance. Pullen started the burst with back-to-back three-pointers and tallied 11 points during the stretch, which Jamar Samuels capped with a free throw for a 24-11 margin with 10:22 to go.

Pullen later tallied nine straight points, with his trey making it 35-24 with 5:01 remaining.

"I was just trying to take good looks. I was just trying to be patient and not be overly aggressive and just take the shots that were given to me," Pullen said. "My shots were just going in."

Henriquez-Roberts' jumper prior to the break gave the Wildcats a 42-33 lead.

Reed made a pair of free throws with 16:24 to play to cut the gap to five, 46-41. But Kansas State responded with an ensuing 10-2 flurry to essentially put the game away. Pullen capped the burst with a jumper to make it 56-43.

Another trey by Pullen stretched the home team's margin to 65-47 just before the midway point, and Kansas never got closer than 10 the rest of the way.

Game Notes

Just over two weeks ago, Kansas crushed Kansas State by a 90-66 final in Lawrence, and the Jayhawks own a commanding 181-91 series lead over their in- state rivals...This marks the fifth time during Bill Self's eight seasons that Kansas has reached the No. 1 ranking...The Jayhawks fell to 7-1 in true road games and 11-1 in contests away from Allen Fieldhouse...The Wildcats shot 56.3 percent from the field.