KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas State used a strong inside game in the first half to defeat Texas A&M 71-64 in the Wildcat Classic at the Sprint Center on Saturday night.
The Wildcats (7-4) were led by Nino Williams with 17 points. Thomas Gipson added 14 points, and Marcus Foster and Wesley Iwundu had 10 each.
Texas A&M (7-3) was led by Kourtney Roberson and Danuel House with 13 points each. Jordan Green had 11 and Alex Caruso 10.
The Wildcats saw their seven-point halftime lead trimmed to five points before an 11-2 run allowed them to put the game on cruise control. A 6-0 run by Texas A&M with just over four minutes remaining cut the lead to 61-54. The Wildcats missed six straight free throws to see the lead reduced to four points a couple of times, but held off the Aggies down the stretch.
Kansas State went inside early and often. After an opening 3-point basket by Justin Edwards, the Wildcats’ next nine field goals were inside the paint. It wasn’t until 6:16 remained in the first half that the Wildcats scored again from beyond 5 feet. Foster’s 3-pointer gave the Wildcats a 31-20 lead, the largest of the half.
Even the first six free throws during the opening run were generated by fouls on inside play. In all, 10 of Kansas State’s 14 first-half field goals were in the paint. The Wildcats shot a sizzling 82 percent from the field in the first half.
Following Foster’s bomb, the Aggies got back in the game with a quick 6-0 run. But the Wildcats responded with their own 6-0 run on a three-point play by Malek Harris and a 3-pointer from Iwundu.
The Aggies hit both of their shots from beyond the 3-point line and three others from just inside the arc in the first half.

• TIP-INS
Texas A&M: Saturday’s game was the fifth of the Aggies’ six nonconference contests against teams that played in the NCAA tournament last season. The Aggies are 2-3 in those games. ...Texas A&M is 7-18 against Kansas State, with most of those games coming when the Aggies were part of the Big 12 Conference. It was the first matchup between the two schools since Texas A&M left the Big 12 following the 2011-12 season.
Kansas State: The game was considered a home game for the Wildcats, despite the fact that it took place more than 100 miles from campus. . The Wildcats are now 107-76 all-time in Kansas City.
• UP NEXT
Texas A&M hosts Mercer on Dec. 30.
Kansas State hosts Texas Southern on Dec. 28.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Wildcat Classic

MEN

Saturday

At Kansas City, Mo.
Sprint Center

KANSAS STATE 71, TEXAS A&M 64
TEXAS A&M (7-3)
Green 3-5 5-5 11, Jones 3-10 0-1 6, Roberson 6-7 1-2 13, Caruso 5-8 0-1 10, House 3-8 5-6 13, Robinson 0-2 0-0 0, Trocha-Morelos 0-1 0-0 0, Fitzgerald 0-1 0-0 0, Allen 1-1 0-0 2, Space 4-8 0-2 9. Totals 25-51 11-17 64.
KANSAS ST. (7-4)
Thomas 2-6 4-10 8, Foster 3-6 2-4 10, Williams 6-8 5-7 17, Edwards 3-5 0-0 8, Gipson 4-7 6-6 14, M. Harris 1-1 2-3 4, Schoen 0-0 0-0 0, Bolden 0-0 0-0 0, N. Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Iwundu 5-5 0-0 10, Rohleder 0-0 0-0 0, Meyer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-39 19-30 71.
Halftime—Kansas St. 39-32. 3-Point Goals—Texas A&M 3-9 (House 2-5, Space 1-2, Green 0-1, Fitzgerald 0-1), Kansas St. 4-12 (Edwards 2-4, Foster 2-4, Williams 0-1, Thomas 0-3). Fouled Out—Green. Rebounds—Texas A&M 25 (Caruso 6), Kansas St. 24 (Gipson 6). Assists—Texas A&M 15 (Caruso 6), Kansas St. 13 (Foster 4). Total Fouls—Texas A&M 24, Kansas St. 20. Technical_Space. A—14,884.