Postgame: K-State 79, Iowa State 75

After scoring a season-high 30 points during Kansas State’s 79-75 win over Iowa State on Saturday, it’s safe to say Denis Clemente has found his shooting touch.

For the second consecutive game he made half the shots he attempted and scored more than 20 points. He is heating up, and teammates say they don’t see him cooling off anytime soon. Neither does his coach.

Following Saturday’s win, Frank Martin compared Clemente to a baseball player who had watched the majority of his well hit line drives wind up in the gloves of outfielders this season. But now that he’s reached first base with a grounder or two his confidence is up, and he’s back to slugging home runs.

Pretty good analogy considering baseball was Clemente’s first love growing up in Puerto Rico.

“When you’re a good player, and you start feeling better, that’s all it takes,” said Frank Martin. “It’s kind of turning that way for him right now.”

Some of that has to do with Clemente’s practice regimen, which involves putting up shots until Martin tells him to leave the gym. But his new approach to the game is a large factor as well.

Clemente, who transferred to K-State from Miami, said he recently realized there are only a few games remaining in his college basketball career and he wants to make the most of them.

Judging by the sense of urgency he has displayed the last two times out, that’s good news for K-State.

Emptying the notebook:
-- Top 10 teams rarely experience anything new 23 games into the season, but K-State did against Iowa State on Saturday. Inside Hilton Coliseum, it learned how to comeback from a halftime deficit.

The Wildcats had been 0-3 on the season when trailing after the first 20 minutes of games, and they fell behind for a fourth time against Iowa State, 35-31.

During the intermission, players said they spoke confidently about the adjustments they were going to make and how they were going to win the game. But there was some doubt in the locker room. Jacob Pullen, for example, wanted a better second half badly enough that he changed shoes in hopes of turning things around -- and he started the game wearing the new Kobe V’s.

The Wildcats came out with the perfect mindset in the second half, though. Aside from allowing a quick Iowa State layup, they played some of their best basketball of the season and went on a 19-3 run to effectively lock up the game.

-- One thing I didn’t realize until looking at the stat sheet was the Wildcats’ incredible balance. All 10 players who got in the game contributed. They each saw 10 or more minutes of action, they each took at least one shot and they each grabbed at least one rebound. Four of them scored in double figures.

-- K-State’s final defensive statistics were strong. Five different players recorded blocks, and another five came up with at least one steal.

-- Clemente only committed two turnovers. In 37 minutes of work, that is pretty impressive.

-- The two players who didn’t see action were Jordan-Henriquez Roberts and Victor Ojeleye.

-- Say what you will about Iowa State’s struggles, especially at home under coach Greg McDermott, but Craig Brackins is legit. The star forward scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds on Saturday. With officials allowing him to play physical and lean into K-State defenders, he was next to impossible to guard at times.

-- Jamar Samuels enjoyed the bus ride home to Manhattan. Via his twitter account: “Yooooooo we chillin on the bus having a great time. I swear this the funniest team ever.”

Player of the game: Denis Clemente was aggressive, smart and took good shots. It was his best performance of the season.

Play of the game: After making back-to-back three-pointers in the second half, everyone in the building figured Clemente was going to try and make a third. But on K-State’s next possession he used that to his advantage. As the defense came to him, he passed the ball and helped Jamar Samuels score instead. Quite the mature decision.

Do this again: Curtis Kelly dominated the paint for a stretch of the second half. He scored 10 points and grabbed four very tough rebounds in a 13-minute span.

Try to avoid: Dominique Sutton needs to stay out of foul trouble. He committed two quick fouls and only played two first-half minutes against Iowa State. His absence was a big reason why K-State trailed at the break. When he returned to the floor in the second half, the Wildcats immediately improved on defense.

Bottom line: Winning at Hilton Coliseum is no longer the achievement it once was, but K-State should feel happy about its performance all the same. The Wildcats appeared very strong in the second half.