Kansas State 92, Savannah State 61
SAVANNAH ST. (2-15)
Montgomery 3-4 2-2 8, J. Smith 2-2 0-0 4, Blackmon 6-15 6-6 19, Richards 3-8 1-4 7, Shuler 5-13 2-3 15, Jones 0-2 0-1 0, Spears 0-2 0-0 0, Edwards 0-2 1-4 1, Wilson 1-2 0-0 3, C. Smith 0-2 4-6 4. Totals 20-52 16-26 61.
KANSAS ST. (12-3)
Samuels 4-8 3-4 11, Judge 4-10 5-11 13, Pullen 9-11 2-2 24, Russell 2-4 1-1 6, McGruder 5-9 2-2 15, Southwell 0-0 0-0 0, Peterson 0-1 0-0 0, Irving 2-5 0-0 4, Myles 1-2 3-3 5, Ojeleye 2-4 0-0 4, Asprilla 1-6 1-2 3, Henriquez-Roberts 0-4 2-4 2, Potuzak 0-0 0-0 0, Spradling 1-2 2-2 5. Totals 31-66 21-31 92.
Halftime—Kansas St. 46-35. Three-point goals—Savannah St. 5-16 (Shuler 3-8, Wilson 1-1, Blackmon 1-5, Montgomery 0-1, Richards 0-1), Kansas St. 9-18 (Pullen 4-6, McGruder 3-7, Spradling 1-1, Russell 1-1, Irving 0-1, Samuels 0-2). Fouled Out—J. Smith, Spears. Rebounds—Savannah St. 29 (Shuler 7), Kansas St. 48 (Judge 14). Assists—Savannah St. 8 (Richards 4), Kansas St. 22 (Pullen 5). Total Fouls—Savannah St. 22, Kansas St. 19. Technical—Savannah St. Bench. A—9,831.
MANHATTAN (AP) — Jacob Pullen scored 24 points in his return from a suspension, and No. 17 Kansas State cruised to a 92-61 win over Savannah State on Monday night in the Wildcats’ final tune up before Big 12 play.
Pullen, a preseason All-American, was 7 of 8 from the field in the first half and hit three 3-pointers, showing little rust after missing three games for receiving impermissible clothing benefits from a local department store.
Fellow senior Curtis Kelly is still suspended for his role in receiving impermissible benefits. He is not eligible to return until Jan. 15 against Texas Tech.
The game was tied at 18 before Pullen went to work, capping a 19-point spurt prior to halftime with a nifty drive and left-handed layup at the buzzer, after Kansas State coach Frank Martin had called timeout with 4.7 seconds left to set up the final play.
Kansas State (12-3) led 46-35 by halftime and coasted after the break.
Preston Blackmon scored 19 points and Jovonni Shuler had 15 for Savannah State (2-15), which has played 12 of its last 15 games on the road. The Tigers keep the trip going at Nebraska on Wednesday night before visiting Marshall next weekend.
Savannah State didn’t look weary early, sticking with the bigger Wildcats until Pullen fueled their big run late in the first half. Kansas State was more balanced on offense in the second half, when Rodney McGruder and Wally Judge got into the act.
McGruder hit consecutive jumpers and Judge scored in transition to make it 63-45, and Pullen added a 3-pointer with 8:53 left from the right wing that made it 83-53.
McGruder finished with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while Judge had 13 points and 14 rebounds. Jamar Samuels added 11 points as Kansas State shot 47 percent (31 of 66) from the field and 21 of 31 from the foul line — a modest 67 percent clip that far exceeds their season average, which had been among the worst in the nation.
Savannah State at least fared better offensively than the last time it visited Bramlage Coliseum, an 85-25 blitz in 2008 that set the record for fewest points by a K-State opponent in arena history.
