Red Raiders Fall To No. 13 Kansas State

 

No. 13 Kansas State defeated Texas Tech for the sixth straight time on Tuesday night at the United Spirit Arena.

The Red Raiders were unable to overcome an 8-point halftime deficit, and the Wildcats rolled to a 68-59 victory.

Tech head coach Chris Walker said his team’s lack of rebounding was one of the main reasons the Red Raiders did not get the win.

“At the end of the day they got the rebounds,” he said. “They’re a more experienced team, and I would even say they are a little bit tougher team right now.”

The Wildcats out-rebounded the Red Raiders 38-20, including 15 offensive boards.

Rodney McGruder led Kansas State to victory and was one of four Wildcats to score in double figures. McGruder had 18 points and added nine rebounds. McGruder was just one rebound short of a double-double.

Tech came within 6 points of Kansas State with about 7 minutes left in the game, but was never able to get over the hump and catch up to Kansas State.

Walker said even though the Red Raiders lost, he is happy with the effort his team put forth in the game.

“Every single game I continue to talk to my guys about getting better,” he said. “That’s the most important thing; we’re continuing to get better every game.”

Walker said he thinks Tech did a good job of taking care of the basketball.

“One thing we did a great job of was not turning the ball over,” he said. “We had two 20-turnover games consecutively, and we harped on those guys that we have to do a better job of valuing the ball. Four turnovers tonight, I couldn’t be any prouder of my guys.”

Tech walk-ons Clark Lammert and Luke Adams normally do not get much time on the court, but played some key minutes during the game.

Tech point guard Josh Gray said the two players came up big for the team.

“They came in the game and contributed really well,” Gray said. “They came in and played big, and we needed that. That was good for us.”

Both Adams and Lammert each had one three-pointer in the game.

The Red Raiders will travel to Waco on Saturday to take on the Baylor Bears. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.

 

By Chois Woodman

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