Short-Handed K-State Grinds to 81-78 win over Utah

Tuesday, January 20

Manhattan, Kan.

8 p.m. CT

Kansas State University

10-9,1-5Big 12

Utah

9-10,1-5Big 12

Utah

Kansas St.

Jan 21, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats (.pdf)Postgame Quotes (.pdf)Highlights Jerome Tang Press Conference Player Press Conference Photo Gallery

Junior P.J. Haggerty scored 28 of his game-high 34 points in the second half.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Junior P.J. Haggerty scored 28 of his game-high 34 points in the second half in helping a short-handed Kansas State to an 81-78 win over Utah on Tuesday night before 8,061 fans at Bramlage Coliseum to end a 5-game losing streak to open Big 12 play.

The 28 points tied for the third-most points in a half in school history, including the most since Denis Clemente went for 32 points in the second half at Texas on Jan. 31, 2009.

K-State (10-9, 1-5 Big 12) had just 10 available players due to injuries, as the Wildcats had to play without regulars Abdi Bashir Jr. and Khamari McGriff, who had started the previous 18 games.

This forced head coach Jerome Tang to insert juniors Dorin Buca and David Castillo into the starting lineup, alongside Haggerty, senior Nate Johnson and junior Taj Manning, who made his third straight start in place of the injured Elias Rapieque.

Despite this adversity, the Wildcats found a way to pick up their first Big 12 win as Haggerty came through with a big jumper shot with a score tied at 77-all before Johnson iced the game with a pair of free throws with 6.7 seconds left. The Utes (9-10, 1-5 Big 12) had one last chance, but junior Terrence Brown's 3-point attempt fell short with 2 seconds remaining.

Haggerty's 34 points were the 10th-most by a Wildcat in a Big 12 game and the most since Markquis Nowell went for 36 at Texas on Jan. 3, 2023. He connected on 15-of-29 field goals, including 1-of-4 from 3-point range, and 3-of-6 free throws to go with a game-high 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in more than 39 minutes.

Haggerty was joined in double figures by Castillo, who posted his second career 20-point games and first in Big 12 play with 20 points, and Johnson, who added 17 points on 5-of-9 field goals, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, to go with a game-high 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Castillo hit a career-high 6 3-pointers, which tied for the 10^th-most by a Wildcat in a Big 12 game.

The Utes were led by Brown, who nearly equaled Haggerty with a team-high 33 points on 14-of-24 shooting, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range. Brown was joined in double figures by junior Seydou Traore and graduate Don McHenry, who had 15 points each.

Both teams shot nearly 50 percent with K-State hitting on exactly 50 percent (31-of-62) for the second consecutive game, including 52.2 percent (12-of-23) from 3-point range. Utah shot 49.2 percent (32-of-65), including 34.8 percent (8-of-23) from long range.
The teams went back and forth in the early going before K-State used a 20-9 run to go ahead 28-18 midway through the first half. Utah responded with a 16-6 run to tie the game at 34-all and force a timeout by Tang with 5:05 to play. The Wildcats scored 12 of the next 17 points go back ahead 46-39 before the Utes ended the half with back-to-back baskets to pull within 46-43.

The second half was much of the same with Utah erasing the halftime deficit with an 8-2 run before going ahead 65-61 with 9:12 to play. Haggerty scored 10 points in a 13-4 K-State run that propelled the Wildcats ahead 74-69. However, the Utes scored 5 straight to tie it 74-all at the final media timeout with 2:51 remaining. A Haggerty 3-point play proved pivotal to go ahead 77-75 before Brown tied the game with 77-all.

The matchup was just the fifth between the schools, including the first-ever visit by Utah to Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcats now lead the series, 3-2, including 2-0 in Manhattan.

HEAD COACH JEROME TANG
Opening statement…
"Yeah, there's this story in this book I love to read about a guy named Gideon who was going through a tough time, and he had a battle to go fight, and he had a group of people with him, and God told him that you got too many, so he got rid of a bunch of them. God said, 'you still have too many, so get rid of some more,' so he got rid of some more. We had that experience happen to us this last week where, you know, we got two guys that were already out. After the Oklahoma State game, we had Abdi's [Bashir] foot x-rayed, and he had a stress fracture, so he had surgery today, so he was out. And then today at shootaround, there was a freak thing that we don't even know what it is, but it took Khamari [McGriff] out of the game. But we told the guys, just like Gideon, God told him he had enough. We told the guys we had enough, and we just had the battle, and at the end of the day, we were going to win, and when we won, God was going to get all the honor and the glory. So, all honor and glory to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."

On Abdi Bashir's timeline…
"No, not really they, you know, they tell you four to six weeks with Abdi. Khamari's day-to-day, you know, just like Elias [Rapieque].

On the players stepping up and playing this way…
"I'm super proud of them. I'd have been proud of them if we were 5-0. And this happened, you know, just to see what these dudes there, I've said this, like we got high character guys. They show up every day, and they bring energy, and we're learning how to just move on to the next thing. Even with this win tonight, we have got to watch it, we have to keep getting better. Super proud of the effort, the grit, the toughness. [Terrence] Brown was so good, and he just kept making tough shots, but we just kept fighting and battling, and I thought we wore him down a little bit. If they finished the game 1 from 7 from the field, missing shots they were making earlier, and because of our resilience and our toughness."

On P.J. Haggerty taking over…
"We found a mismatch. [Terrence] Brown gets four fouls. We weren't getting enough paint points. Like, we can't rely on making ten 3s in two halves, right? So at halftime, when it's 26 to 8 paint points, you're like, man, the only reason we're in the game is because we made ten 3s. That's not going to happen in the second half, right? We got it. We have to own the paint, and we have to keep them out of the paint. I think we finished the game 40 to 32 so we closed that margin, and that was important."

On winning the game after the last defensive shot…
"Yeah, we just made them take a tough one. It looked good, though in the air, I was like, 'oh crap.' We contemplated fouling, but with the continuation in college, it's like, so hard, you know, like, you hit them and then they get another step, or the ref calls it after, so there's a lot of changes. But I thought we made him take a tough one, and then we went and got the rebound with four guards and Taj [Manning]. And how about Taj Manning, playing for 34 minutes, and Taj has been averaging like a rebound every three and a half minutes he's on the floor. And tonight, 34 minutes, he only had four rebounds, but he did such a great job of blocking out number 32 [James Okonkwo] or number 7 [Josh Hayes], who was to allow the guards to come in and get rebounds. I mean, he just battled, man, so proud of him."

FIRST HALF
After Utah went ahead 7-2, K-State responded with 13 of the next 17 points to go ahead 15-11 at the first media timeout. Sophomore David Castillo was responsible for 9 of the 13 points, all coming from corner 3-pointers. The hot start continued for the Wildcats, as they rattled off 7 straight points to go ahead 28-18 and force a timeout by head coach Alex Jensen at the 9:31 mark.

The timeout seemed to work for the Utes, as they used a 16-6 run to tie the game at 34-all, prompting a timeout by head coach Jerome Tang at the 5:05 mark. After the teams battled to a 36-all, Castillo connected on his fifth 3-pointer followed by a third from senior Nate Johnson to go ahead 42-36 near the 2-minute mark. Two technical free throws by Johnson and layup by junior P.J. Haggerty made it 46-39 but Utah finished off the half with 4 straight points to close to within 46-43.

Both shot 50 percent or better from the field in the opening half, with Utah connecting on 54.3 percent (19-of-35) compared to K-State's 50 percent (17-of-34). The Wildcats made 10 3-pointers in the half, including 5 from Castillo, who led all scorers with 17 points.

SECOND HALF
The Utes continued their momentum from the first half by scoring 8 of the first 10 points, including the first 6 points, to go ahead 51-48. The Wildcats got back-to-back buckets from Haggerty and a layup from junior Taj Manning to go back ahead 54-51 at the first media timeout.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from junior Terrence Brown and graduate Don McHenry gave Utah a 60-55 lead just after the second media timeout with 11:30 remaining. Ten straight points from Haggerty tied the game at 65-all with just over 8 minutes to play. After the Utes went back ahead 67-65 right before the third media timeout, a sixth 3-pointer from Castillo sparked a 9-2 run that gave the Wildcats a 74-69 lead with 4:09 remaining.

A 3-pointer from Brown led to 6 straight points from the Utes and a 75-74 lead right after the final media timeout with 2:51 to play. A 3-point play from Haggerty gave the Wildcats a 77-75 lead with 1:45 remaining. After dueling timeouts, Brown tied the game at 77-all with a driving layup with a minute to play. Haggerty answered with a jumper for a 79-77 lead with 39 seconds left before McHenry cut the lead in half by splitting a pair of free throws with 11 seconds.

Haggerty successfully inbounded the ball to Johnson who was fouled with 6.7 seconds. He knocked down both free throws to push the lead to 81-78, as Brown's 3-pointer was off the mark with 2 seconds remaining.

Haggerty scored 28 of his 34 points in the second half, while Brown led the Utes with 19 points.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

K-State snapped a 5-game losing streak with an 81-78 win over Utah.
K-State now leads the all-time series with Utah, 3-2, including 2-0 in Manhattan… The series is tied 1-1 since the start of Big 12 play.
K-State is now 47-13 under head coach Jerome Tang at Bramlage Coliseum, including 22-9 in Big 12 play and 8-4 this season.
K-State used a starting lineup of junior P.J. Haggerty, senior Nate Johnson, sophomore David Castillo, junior Taj Manning and junior Dorin Buca… This is the fifth different starting lineup used this season.
Haggerty and Johnson have now started all 19 games.
Haggerty now has 85 career starts (Tulsa/Memphis/K-State), N. Johnson now has 79 career starts (Akron/K-State), Castillo and Manning now have 5 career starts while Buca earned his first career start.
K-State played with just 10 available players due to injuries with just 7 seeing time.

TEAM NOTES

K-State scored its 81 points on 50 percent (31-of-62) shooting, including 52.2 percent (12-of-23) from 3-point range, while hitting on 70 percent (7-of-10) from the free throw line.
K-State has now scored 80 or more points in 13 of 19 games this season.
K-State shot 50 percent or better from the field for the eighth time this season.
K-State made double-digit 3-point field goals (12) for the 10th time this season.
The 12 made 3-point field goals were the third-most in a Big 12 game by the Wildcats.
K-State posted a 17-11 edge in fast-break points.
Utah posted a 34-29 advantage on the glass, which included 10 offensive boards that the Utes converted into a 12-6 edge in second-chance points.
Utah held advantages in points off turnovers (14-8), points in the paint (40-32), second-chance points (12-6) and bench points (13-8).
K-State led 46-43 at halftime and is now 9-1 this season and 51-10 under head coach Jerome Tang when leading at the break.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Three Wildcats scored in double figures, including 34 points from junior P.J. Haggerty… Junior David Castillo (20 points) and senior Nate Johnson (17 points) also registered double digits.
Haggerty scored his 34 points on 15-of-29 field goals, including 1-of-4 from 3-point range, and 3-of-6 free throws to go with a game-high 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in 39 minutes… He has now scored in double figures in 83 of 91 career games in college, including all 19 games this season… He has 57 games of 20 or more points in his career, including 14 this season… He has 7 games of 30 or more points, including 3 this season.
The 34 points tied for 10th-most by a Wildcat player in a Big 12 game and the most since Markquis Nowell went for 36 at Texas on Jan. 3, 2023.
The 28 points tied for the third-most points in a half in school history, including the most since Denis Clemente went for 32 points in the second half at Texas on Jan. 31, 2009.
Castillo recorded his second career 20-point game and his first in Big 12 play.
Castillo scored his 20 points on 7-of-12 field goals, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range, to go with 4 rebounds and 2 assists in 33 minutes… He now has 11 career double-digit scoring games, including 10 this season.
Castillo's 6 made 3-pointers were a career high and tied for the 10^th-most made in a conference game.
Johnson scored his 17 points on 5-of-9 field goals, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, to go with 6 assists and 5 rebounds in 35 minutes… He has now scored in double figures in 52 career games, including 12 this season.

WHAT'S NEXT
K-State renews one of the longest continuously played rivalries in college basketball on Saturday night when the Wildcats play host to No. 19/19 Kansas (14-5, 4-2 Big 12) at Bramlage Coliseum. The game will tip at 7 p.m., CT on FOX. The schools have met 303 times, including every year since 1912, with Kansas leading 206-97.

How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on K-State men's basketball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X, Instagram and Facebook.