Kansas State Wildcats vs Texas Christian Horned Frogs Box Score on Mar 04, 2019

No. 18 Kansas State outscored TCU 15-3 in the first five minutes of the second half to blow open a close game on the way to a 64-52 defeat of the Horned Frogs on Monday night in Fort Worth, Texas.

The victory put the Wildcats (23-7, 13-4 Big 12) a game away from their first conference title since 2013.

If the Wildcats win their final game Saturday at home to Oklahoma, they are guaranteed at least a share of the conference title. Texas Tech, which defeated Texas 70-51 Monday night to maintain its share of the conference lead, finishes at Iowa State on Saturday.

Nearly as important to Kansas State, a win by either the Wildcats or the Red Raiders would keep Kansas from winning a share of its 15th straight conference title.

The Wildcats last won a share of a conference title when they shared the 2013 crown with Kansas. The last time the Wildcats won an outright title was 1977, when they won the Big 8 regular-season title.

After leading by nine points at halftime, the Wildcats scored the first 10 points of the second half to open a comfortable lead. They hit seven of their first eight shots before the first media timeout. TCU was as cold as the Wildcats were hot, hitting just one of six shots, and Kansas State owned a 51-30 lead.

TCU scored 10 straight points to cut the deficit to 11 points, but the Horned Frogs never could get closer than seven points.

Kansas State was led by Barry Brown with 16 points, Kamau Stokes with 15, Xavier Sneed with 11 and Makol Mawien with 10. The Wildcats got all but three points from its starters.

TCU (18-12, 6-11) was led by a career-high 17 points by freshman Kevin Samuel. RJ Nembhard added 12 points.

The Wildcats have struggled on the boards this season -- they ranked last in the Big 12 in rebounds coming in. However, they dominated the glass in the early going. They held a 13-5 advantage at the midway point of the half, including a 6-1 advantage on the offensive end. They finished the half with an 18-12 rebounding advantage.

The Horned Frogs were led by Samuel with 11 first-half points. He went to the bench with two fouls with 2:33 left in the half and the Horned Frogs trailing by just four points.

The Wildcats scored the final five points of the half to take a 36-27 lead -- their largest of the half -- into the locker room.

The Wildcats were led by Stokes and Dean Wade with nine first-half points apiece. Sneed added seven points for Kansas State before the break.

--Field Level Media