National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Kansas St. 71, West Virginia 61
When: 9:00 PM ET, Monday, February 18, 2013
Where: Fred Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, Kansas
Officials: # Don Daily, # Joe DeRosa, # Doug Sirmons
Attendance: 12329


No. 13 Kansas State 71, West Virginia 61: Will Spradling matched a career high with 19 points and Nino Williams added 13 off the bench as the host Wildcats beat former coach Bob Huggins in his first trip back since leaving Kansas State for his alma mater after the 2006-07 season.

Angel Rodriguez and Thomas Gipson scored 11 apiece for Kansas State (21-5, 10-3 Big 12), which improved to 14-1 at Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcats have won six of their last seven overall and have temporarily seized control of first place in the Big 12 by a half-game over Kansas and Oklahoma State.

Deniz Kilicli collected 16 points and nine rebounds to lead the Mountaineers (13-13, 6-7), but the rest of West Virginia's starters combined for only 13 points on 3-of-11 shooting.

The Mountaineers led 2-0 and never again after Spradling and Shane Southwell hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the early going. The Wildcats reeled off a 12-0 run to extend the lead to 18-4, and the margin didn't slip into single digits the rest of the way.

West Virginia's hope of a comeback was dashed when Eron Harris was whistled for personal and technical fouls to foul out with 9:24 left and Kansas State leading 54-40. Spradling hit four free throws to start a 7-0 spurt and the Wildcats cruised from there.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Huggins led the Wildcats to a 23-12 mark in his only season in Manhattan, Kan. … West Virginia has made a 3-pointer in 449 consecutive games dating to Nov. 27, 1999, but the Mountaineers were just 4-for-13 from behind the arc. … Harris, who had scored in double figures in nine of 10 games since entering the starting lineup, was held scoreless on 0-for-2 shooting.

Top Game Performances
 
West Virginia   Kansas St.
Deniz Kilicli 16 Scoring Will Spradling 19
Juwan Staten 8 Assists Angel Rodriguez 7
Aaric Murray 9 Rebounds Jordan Henriquez 7
Juwan Staten 8 Free Throws Made Will Spradling 7
Juwan Staten 3 Steals Thomas Gipson 2
Aaric Murray 2 Blocks Jordan Henriquez 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
West Virginia 61 40.5 4-13 23-30 13 24 2 10 13
Kansas St. 71 50.0 6-16 19-23 19 25 4 7 18