MANHATTAN, Kan. — Jacob Pullen had 18 points, Dominique Sutton added 14 and No. 12 Kansas State responded to its highest ranking in 36 years with a 90-76 victory over winless Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Monday night.
Coming off four resume building victories over bigger programs, Kansas State (11-1) used balanced scoring and a swarming defense to wear down the Golden Lions. Curtis Kelly had 13 points, Denis Clemente and Jamar Samuels added 12 each and the Wildcats shot 50 percent for their eighth consecutive victory.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-10) kept it close early and made a gritty run late to cut a 24-point lead in half before running out of steam. Tyree Glass had 18 points and Savalance Townsend added 16 for the Golden Lions, who lost another road game despite shooting 52 percent.
UAPB has kept most of its games close, even against the big-conference schools, losing by an average of 14.2 points. The Golden Lions stayed with Kansas State early by sneaking in for offensive rebounds to keep possessions alive and with decent shooting.
What hurt UAPB was turnovers - again.
The Golden Lions had 15 that led to 19 points for Kansas State in the first half and 21 overall after turning it over 20 times in a loss to Missouri on Saturday.
The miscues set up easy opportunities at the other end for Kansas State, particularly Pullen.
“It’s hard to get down to a team like K-State and try to dig yourself out of that hole,” UAPB Coach George Ivory said. “I’m just proud of the guys. They never quit and they competed all the way to the end.”
NO. 3 KENTUCKY 88, DREXEL 44
LEXINGTON, Ky. - DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson scored 18 points each and No. 3 Kentucky became the first team in NCAA history to reach the 2,000-victory plateau.
Kentucky improved to 2,000-635-1 in 107 seasons. North Carolina is next on the list with 1,992 while Kansas has 1,980.
Samme Givens led Drexel (6-6) with 11 points, but the Dragons shot just 31 percent from the field.
SOUTH CAROLINA 81, FURMAN 57
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Devan Downey and Sam Muldrow scored 16 points each to lead South Carolina past Furman.
Freshmen Ramon Galloway and Lakeem Jackson set career highs with 15 points each for South Carolina (8-3).
Downey added eight assists and seven steals. Muldrow blocked three shots.
Amu Saaka led Furman (5-5) with 14 points.
South Carolina learned earlier in the day it would be without senior Dominique Archie for the remainder of the year. He injured his right knee in a loss to Miami on Nov. 22, and will have season-ending surgery.
VANDERBILT 99, MERCER 59
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Freshman reserve John Jenkins scored a career-high 17 points and Vanderbilt routed Mercer.
Thirteen players scored for the Commodores (8-3), who allowed just 25 points in the first half for the second consecutive game.
An 18-2 run early in the first half gave Vanderbilt a 29-9 lead with 9:43 left in the half. The Commodores made seven consecutive shots during the five-minute stretch. It also didn’t hurt that Mercer (4-6) opened the game shooting 2 for 13 from the field.
Jermaine Beal scored 15 points, Brad Tinsley added a season-high 14, Jeffery Taylor had 13 and A.J. Ogilvy had 11 for Vanderbilt.
Sports, Pages 20 on 12/22/2009