Wildcats Run Away From Buffs, 78-59

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) -Cartier Martin scored 10 of Kansas State's first 11 points of the second half and sparked the Wildcats to a 78-59 victory Saturday over Colorado, which lost its 10th straight Big 12 road game.

Colorado was led by freshman Xavier Silas with 16 points.  Senior Dominique Coleman added 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

Martin, criticized after scoring only 11 points in a 97-70 loss to No. 9 Kansas on Wednesday, hit two 3-pointers and a short jumper and alertly tipped the ball into the bucket off David Hoskins' missed free throw in the early run. Hoskins capped the 13-5 spree with a jumper than made it 50-29.

Martin finished with 25 points and rose to No. 7 on Kansas State's career scoring list.

Kansas State (18-7 overall, 7-3 Big 12), whose seven-game winning streak was snapped on Wednesday, remained tied with Texas for third place in the Big 12 in Bob Huggins' first year as coach. The Wildcats have never finished higher than seventh in the conference, and their overall record is the best after 25 games since 1987-88.

Colorado (6-14, 2-8) fell behind for good when Akeem Wright's 6-footer made it 9-7. The Buffs were coming off their best game of season, a 89-77 victory over No. 17 Oklahoma State. But they committed turnovers on seven straight possessions during Kansas State's run opening the second half and wound up with 23.

Colorado junior Richard Roby, who'd averaged almost 23 points his last three games and 17.6 for the year, managed only five points on 1-for-9 shooting. Also having a bad game was Jermaine Maybank, Kansas State's 6-4 senior guard who scored 26 points against Kansas - 24 above his season average. He got his first career start but wound up with only three points.

The Wildcats took control of the freshmen-laden Buffs early.

Lance Harris, taking a great feed beneath the basket from Clent Stewart, put in a 12-footer for a 31-23 lead and then Kansas State took its biggest lead of the first half, 37-25, when Stewart drove in for an under-handed scoop. The Buffaloes missed nine of their last 10 shots of the first half.

Leading 59-42 with about 8 minutes left, the Wildcats went on a 10-4 run capped by Hoskins' three-point play and a bucket and two free throws by Martin, 6-7 senior who's been coming off the bench the past two months in a new role.

Colorado will return to Boulder and take on No. 9 Kansas at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 14th at the Coors Events Center.