[ Ice-cold free throw shooting down stretch stalls K-State rally ]

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Jan 27, 2002 by Kevin Haskin Capital-Journal

Ice-cold free throw shooting down stretch stalls K-State rally

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The Associated Press

Kansas State's Pervis Pasco, center, pulled down a rebound between Missouri's Justin Gage, left, and Rickey Paulding, right, on Saturday.

By Kevin Haskin

The Capital-Journal

COLUMBIA, Mo. --- Kansas State defended the top shooter, got its big men into the game and took care of the basketball as well it has all year.

What the Wildcats didn't do for a crucial stretch Saturday was accept what charity it was handed. Seven consecutive misses from the free throw line, including two on the front end of one-and-ones, eventually cost them.

K-State could only draw as close as, umm, seven down the wire as Missouri held on for an 86-74 victory at the Hearnes Center.

"That could have been the game right there," senior guard Larry Reid said of the 8-for-17 clip the Cats shot from the line in the second half. "We missed some free throws, but I think everyone knows we played our hardest and came out and tried to win the game."

That they did, despite trailing by as many as 17.

But the 18th-ranked Tigers never budged enough after breaking loose early, snapping a 13-13 tie by cashing in on seven straight possessions with 13 unanswered points.

Junior Kareem Rush keyed the breakaway, then went on to collect 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting to help the Tigers gain a 42-30 lead at the break.

They pushed that margin to 17, 62-45, with 11:22 remaining, but Rush had gone silent. He added just four more points in the second half to finish with 22.

Meanwhile, K-State (7-10, 1-5) finally established an inside presence as juniors Pervis Pasco and Matt Siebrandt finished with 11 points each after being held to 1 point (a Siebrandt free throw) in the first half.

"Me and Perv went 0-for-6 that first half, and we can't have that as a team," Siebrandt said. "We've got to get some easy buckets for our team or else we struggle. He (coach Jim Wooldridge) challenged us at halftime and I thought we did a good job --- but unfortunately, too little, too late."

Reid kept the Cats in it early and finished with a team-high 19 points, and also directed an efficient floor game, which included just eight turnovers. He got some help outside from backup guard Tony Atchison, who added 17 points, including a 3-pointer with 2:47 left to cut the deficit to 74-67.

"At seven, we knew it was late, but you're in it one possession at a time and that was a decent place to be compared to what we saw in the first half being down by 17," Wooldridge said. "To be down by seven, a play here, a play there, and you never know."

But Mizzou (15-5, 5-2) responded by scoring its final 12 points from the foul line, off just 14 attempts, and improved to beat K- State for the 18th straight time at home.

Although Rush disappeared, Rickey Paulding added 15 points, and Clarence Gilbert and Arthur Johnson collected 14 each.

"We kept coming back and coming back, and there were pockets where we played well," Wooldridge said. "We played an awfully good team that's ranked, and you can't play in spurts. You've got to play consistently against a ranked team."

Cat: Reid, Atchison keep K-State close

See CAT, page 3D

Missouri 86, K-State 74

KANSAS ST......MIN.....FG......FT......R.....A.....T.....F....TP

Buchanan.......13......0-2.....0-0.....2.....1.....0.....2.....0

Siebrandt......29......4-12....3-6.....9.....2.....0.....4.....11

Pasco..........31......4-8.....3-5.....11....2.....2.....4.....11

Reid...........36......7-16....3-4.....2.....5.....0.....2.....19

Williams ......27......3-4.....0-0.....0.....4.....2.....4.....6

Da Barrosa.....2.......0-1.....0-2.....2.....0.....1.....1.....0

Sulic..........10......0-1.....0-1.....3.....0.....1.....3.....0

Atchison.......24......5-12....3-4.....2.....0.....1.....4.....17

DeJesus........21......4-5.....0-1.....1.....1.....1.....2.....10

Canby...........7......0-0.....0-0.....0.....0.....0.....1.....0

Team....................4

Totals.....200.....27-61.....12-23.....36.....15.....8...27....74

MISSOURI.....MIN.....FG......FT......R.....A.....T.....F....TP

Bryant.......14......4-6.....0-0.....5.....1.....0.....5.....8

Rush.........35......8-15....4-4.....6.....1.....2.....0.....22

Johnson......25......6-11....2-3.....5.....1.....0.....5.....14

Gilbert.....35.......3-1.....7-8.....6.....3.....3.....2.....14

Paulding....32.......4-10....4-5.....4.....2.....0.....2.....15

Stokes......15.......1-2.....2-4.....1.....4.....0.....0.....5

Gage........18.......1-1.....0-2.....2.....0.....0.....1.....2

Kroenke.....4........0-0.....0-0.....0.....0.....0.....1.....0

Ferguson ...4........0-0.....0-0.....0.....0.....1.....1.....0

Echols.....18........1-1.....4-6.....5.....2.....0.....3.....6

Team....................4

Totals.....200.....28-57.....23-32 38.....14.....6.....20.....86

Kansas State (7-10, 1-5).........................30.....44.....--- .....74

Missouri (15-5, 5-2).................... 42.....44.....---.....86

3-point goals --- Kansas State 8-16 (Atchison 4-8, Reid 2-5, DeJesus 2-3); Missouri 7-19 (Paulding 3-6, Rush 2-4, Gilbert 1-7, Stokes 1-1, Bryant 0-1).