Norman, Okla. ? Freshman Michael Beasley scored 32 points, including the game-winner with 2.3 seconds left, as Kansas State outlasted Oklahoma 84-82 on Saturday in the Big 12 Conference opener for both teams.
Beasley grabbed 11 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season, and sophomore Bill Walker added 22 points for Kansas State (11-4, 1-0), which won at the Lloyd Noble Center for the first time since Jan. 20, 1996. That stretch included five straight losses to Oklahoma (12-4, 0-1).
The 6-foot-10 Beasley and 6-foot-6 Walker outdueled Oklahoma’s standout freshman, Blake Griffin, who finished with a career-high 27 points and 14 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season.
“Man, that is a big boy,” Beasley said of the 6-foot-10 Griffin. “He is a great player. We just came out and played and it ended up being the battle of the beasts. He is my guy. In basketball there are no friends on the court, but we will always be friends after the game.”
The loss ended the Sooners’ five-game winning streak, their longest under second-year coach Jeff Capel, and likely will keep Oklahoma out of next week’s rankings after the Sooners had risen to 26th in the balloting for the Top 25.
“That’s why you put your freshmen out there against tough teams from day one,” Kansas State coach Frank Martin said. “If we don’t play Notre Dame, if we don’t play Xavier, we don’t have a chance to come in here and beat what I think is a top-20 team.”
