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BLACKSBURG – Kansas State’s Jamar Samuels scored 15 of his 17 points and grabbed 13 of his 14 rebounds in the second half to lead the Wildcats past Virginia Tech 69-61 in a non-conference game played Sunday night at Cassell Coliseum.
With the loss, Tech fell to 5-3 overall on the season. Kansas State moved to 5-0 overall.
The Hokies, behind solid play from Cadarian Raines, C.J. Barksdale and Robert Brown – they scored six points each – led 28-22 at halftime, but the Wildcats opened the second half with a 12-2 run to take a lead they never would relinquish.
Tech tied the game on one occasion, knotting things at 43 on a free throw by Victor Davila with 9:24 remaining. But Kansas State responded again, this time with a 10-0 run that essentially put the game away. Shane Southwell scored four points in that run for the Wildcats, and Samuels’ lay-up with 5:31 capped the run, making the score 53-43.Tech got no closer than five points the rest of the way.
“I thought we competed in the first half,” Tech head coach Seth Greenberg said. “But they were tougher than us in the second half. We didn’t compete offensively, and we didn’t get loose balls. Right from the start of the second half, we were a step behind. We didn’t guard the way we needed to guard in the second half. We were a step behind, and that’s very disappointing.”
The Hokies struggled from the floor in the second half, connecting on 10 of 32 from the floor (31.3 percent). They shot just 33.8 percent for the game.
In contrast, Kansas State shot 57.7 percent in the second half and 41.8 percent for the game.
Brown paced the Hokies with 15 points, hitting just 6 of 17 from the floor. Erick Green had 14 points and seven rebounds, but made just 4 of 17 from the floor.
Southwell had 11 points for the Wildcats. Thomas Gipson, Will Spradling and Jordan Henriquez finished with nine points each.
Tech hits the road for its next game, traveling to Kingston, R.I., for a matchup with Rhode Island on Wednesday night. Tip-off for the game is slated at 7 p.m.
For updates on Virginia Tech men's basketball, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_MBBall).
For updates on the Hokies, follow Jimmy Robertson on Twitter (@jrobIHS).
