• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Beasley's second half helps Kansas State knock off Kansas

Jan 31, 2008 - 5:57 AM MANHATTAN, Kansas (Ticker) -- Freshman Michael Beasley's huge second half helped Kansas State finally end the lengthy drought against its in-state rivals.

Beasley scored 17 of his game-high 25 points after halftime and redshirt freshman Bill Walker chipped in 22 as No. 24 Kansas State ended second-ranked Kansas' unbeaten run with an 84-75 victory in a Big 12 Conference upset on Wednesday.

Freshman Jacob Pullen added a season-high 20 points for the Wildcats, who snapped a 24-game losing streak on their home floor against the Jayhawks. Kansas State had last defeated Kansas in Manhattan on February 25, 1984.

Mario Chalmers had 19 points and Brandon Rush had 15 and seven rebounds for the Jayhawks (20-1, 5-1 Big 12), who watched the Wildcats' fans storm the court after falling two games shy of equaling the best start in school history. Kansas went 22-0 to start the 1996-97 season.

It was the 12th meeting all-time between the teams when both were ranked, but the first since 1958.

Beasley, who had guaranteed a win over Kansas over the summer, came into the game ranked fourth in the nation in scoring (25.3 ppg) as well as the country's leading rebounder (12.7 rpg).

But the freshman was quiet in the first half, making just 3-of-10 shots and pulling down three rebounds.

Despite the slow start from their star player, the Wildcats (14-5, 5-0) still led, 38-36, at the break, thanks to 7-of-15 shooting from the arc and 12 points from Walker.

The Jayhawks scored the first basket of the second half to tie the score at 38-38, but Beasley and the Wildcats would never trail over the final 20 minutes.

The freshman sensation scored the first nine points for Kansas State and the Wildcats took a 47-42 lead on his third 3-pointer of the game.

Kansas State then took its largest lead at 57-45 after Beasley capped a 10-0 run with a dunk at the midway point of the second half.

The Jayhawks cut the deficit down to seven before Beasley answered with a 3-pointer, giving the Wildcats a 67-57 advantage with 4:17 to play and Kansas State led by at least seven for the rest of the game.

Beasley finished 9-of-18 from the field, making all four of his 3-pointers to go along with six rebounds.

The contest went back-and-forth early as Kansas State jumped out to an 11-5 lead before the Jayhawks came back to go in front, 18-14. The Wildcats then responded with a 14-4 run to take a 28-22 bulge with 9:20 left in the half.

The five-game winning streak to start conference play is the best for Kansas State since opening the 1987-88 conference season with six straight wins.