P.J. Haggerty scored 34 points and Nate Johnson added a career-high 33, carrying Kansas State to a 90-74 win over Baylor on Tuesday in Manhattan, Kan.
The Wildcats (11-5, 2-11 Big 12) snapped a six-game losing streak, prevailing for the first time since Jan. 20 against Utah.
Kansas State was playing its first game under interim coach Matthew Driscoll after Jerome Tang was fired Sunday.
The Wildcats led from the start, putting together their most complete game of the season hitting 56.7% shots from the field, 8 of 17 (47.1%) from 3-point range and making 14 of 17 from the foul line (82.4%).
Johnson added nine assists, five rebounds and a career-high-tying six steals. He shot 5-for-8 from beyond the arc and was 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
The Bears (13-13, 3-10) were led by Isaac Williams IV with 16 points and Tounde Yessoufou with 14 during their fourth straight defeat.
The Wildcats built a 13-point lead in the first half on the strength of Johnson’s 3-point shooting. Johnson had 16 points before the break, hitting 4 of 6 long-distance attempts.
Haggerty produced a three-point play with 5:27 left in the half to give Kansas State a 34-21 lead.
The Bears were able to outscore the Wildcats 13-7 down the stretch of the half, cutting the deficit to 41-34 entering the locker room.
Baylor stayed in the game by outrebounding the Wildcats 24-15 in the first 20 minutes, but the Bears shot just 1-for-12 from beyond the 3-point arc in the first half.
The Wildcats went 5-for-11 on 3-point tries in the first half.
Kansas State hit nine of its first 14 shots, including 4 of 5 from long range.
Johnson sank all three of his 3-point attempts to score nine points in the early run.
Early in the second half, Kansas State went on an 8-0 run to go ahead 51-36 after a Haggerty layup with 15:38 to go. A 7-0 Wildcats spree soon followed, pushing the margin to 21. Baylor got within nine with 8:20 to play before Kansas State pulled away again.
–Field Level Media
