MANHATTAN (AP) — Xavier Sneed scored 31 points, went 10-of-21 from the field and hit four 3’s as Kansas State defeated Iowa State 79-63 Saturday afternoon.
It was the first win for the Wildcats since January 29, which ended a 10-game losing skid. Kansas State led by as many as 26 in the win.
Cartier Diarra added 14 points, Mike McGuirl had 10 and the Wildcats went 13-18 from the free throw line.
Solomon Young scored 17 and Terrance Lewis had 11 for Iowa State, which has lost five of its last six games.
Kansas State (10-21, 3-15 Big 12) made 52% of its field goal attempts (29-of-56) while Iowa State shot 38% (21-of-55).
The Cyclones (12-19, 5-13) went just 2-for-21 from the 3-point line as the Wildcats connected on eight 3’s. Kansas State had 13 turnovers and Iowa State had 19, which the Wildcats turned into 25 points.
Up 18-15, the Wildcats went on a 14-1 run thanks to Sneed and Diarra scoring 12 of those points.
Sneed scored 14 of the first 18 points for the Wildcats including three 3’s. Sneed had a career high at halftime with 26 points helping K-State post a 41-23 lead after 20 minutes.
 BIG PICTURE
Iowa State: Before tip-off, the Cyclones were locked into the eight versus nine seed matchup in the Big 12 Tournament. They seemed to know that because they showed a lack of motivation.
Kansas State: This was the best the Wildcats have looked the entire conference season. They will need to play this well again in Kansas City to make a run and extend their season.
UP NEXT
Iowa State: Will play on Wednesday at 6 p.m. to open the conference tournament.
Kansas State: Takes on the seven seed at 8:30 pm on Wednesday night in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
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