LUBBOCK, Texas Following the Kansas State basketball teams 69-47 victory over Texas Tech on Wednesday at United Spirit Arena, coach Frank Martin viewed his bench players the same way the rest of us look at auto insurance.He had no idea when, where or why he would need them against the Red Raiders, but when he did he was awfully glad they were there.Thats something that you need as a team, Martin said. Your bench cant be potluck, because then as a coach you dont know what to do. You dont know who to put in there and then you lose confidence.That didnt happen here. Not even close. K-States reserves outscored Texas Techs starters 38-34, and, in a roundabout way, won the game. The Wildcats starters took the court in front of mostly empty red seats, but made the mistakes of a team playing in front of a record road crowd. The reserves came on strong and scored 24 points in the first half to give No. 22 K-State a 31-20 lead at the break. Not only did K-States bench prove it was capable of outplaying Texas Tech on its own, it sent a serious message to Angel Rodriguez, Rodney McGruder, Jamar Samuels, Thomas Gipson and Will Spradling, who opened the game on the floor. Play better in the second half or dont play at all. They responded. Though sixth-man Martavious Irving led K-State, 15-4 and 4-3 in the Big 12, with 16 points and also dished out four assists, McGruder scored 13 points while Rodriguez and Gipson both chipped in eight.We didnt score the way that we needed to, but that happens on the road, Martin said. If you depend on outscoring people on the road, its going to be hard to win on the road. You have to make sure that you can protect the basket and be solid with your principles and have some toughness. On offense, you have to be who you are. The thing I was proudest of tonight was we missed a lot of shots, especially early in the game, but we didnt settle.Still, things were tough early on. The Wildcats seemed intimidated early, and didnt make a positive play before the first media timeout.Texas Tech led 5-2 more than four minutes into the game, and Irving came off the bench to score K-States only points. It seemed as though the Wildcats were playing down to the competition the Red Raiders, 7-12, 0-7, are the only winless team in Big 12 play and the crowd of only a few thousand was the smallest it has seen since playing in Hawaii.But then Martin inserted freshman Adrian Diaz into the game, and he beat the shot clock by making a jumper. Then Martin put sophomore Shane Southwell in the game, and he made an open shot. Then he sent in walk-on Victor Ojeleye and he made back-to-back jumpers.Nothing special, said Ojeleye of what was working during that stretch. It was just K-State team basketball, taking advantage of opportunities and trusting teammates. All the while, the Wildcats played outstanding defense and held Texas Tech without a point for more than seven minutes. Everything was working.We expected to beat them before the game started, said Texas Techs Jordan Tolbert, who scored 18 points. But things didnt go that way.They turned bad fast. With the help of Irving, a K-State lineup almost entirely made up of bench players went on an 18-4 run and gave the Wildcats a lead they would never surrender. I just wanted to provide a spark off the bench and do something that was positive, Irving said. A lot of things early on werent going too well. We were missing a lot of shots. I just wanted to bring a lot of energy.He did. And with that, the Wildcats went on to win their third straight game. Now they can begin preparing for a home game against Oklahoma on Saturday.K-States bench put it in that position with an impressive first-half effort that saw Ojeleye score eight and Diaz six. They didnt contribute nearly as much in the second half McGruder came out hot and K-State quickly stretched its lead to 23 points but they didnt need to. Thats the beauty of an insurance policy.

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Kansas State cruises past Texas Tech

Wildcats roll to a 69-47 victory on the road thanks to a strong effort by the reserves — in the first half.

By KELLIS ROBINETT

The Kansas City Star

Zach Long

Kansas State's Will Spradling drives around Texas Tech's Javarez Willis during their NCAA college basketball game in Lubbock, Texas, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Zach Long)

Wildcat report

Wednesday’s box score

Kansas State (69)

KANSAS ST.

Min

FG-A

FT-A

OR-TR

Rodriguez

2-4

3-3

1-3

McGruder

6-13

1-2

3-6

Samuels

0-3

0-0

Gipson

3-4

2-4

1-6

Spradling

0-5

2-2

1-3

Southwell

2-4

0-0

Irving

6-10

4-5

0-2

Ojeleye

4-5

0-0

1-4

Lawrence

0-0

1-2

0-0

Diaz

3-5

0-1

3-3

Henriquez

0-0

2-2

0-1

Jones

0-1

1-2

0-0

Rohleder

0-0

Meyer

0-0

Totals

200

26-54

16-23

13-35

Percentages: FG .481, FT .696. 3-Point Goals: 1-9, .111 (Rodriguez 1-2, Samuels 0-1, Irving 0-1, McGruder 0-2, Spradling 0-3). Team Rebounds: 7. Blocked Shots: 2 (Diaz 2). Turnovers: 17 (Gipson 4, Diaz 3, Rodriguez 3, Samuels 2, Southwell 2, Jones, Irving). Steals: 12 (McGruder 3, Gipson 2, Irving 2, Rodriguez 2, Jones, Southwell, Spradling). Technical Fouls: None.

Texas Tech 47

TEXAS TECH

Min

FG-A

FT-A

OR-TR

Minnis

0-0

0-2

0-1

Willis

0-8

0-0

1-3

Wagner

5-16

4-6

0-2

Lewandowski

0-1

0-0

0-4

Tolbert

6-8

2-8

Petteway

0-0

Nurse

0-0

Adams

1-3

1-1

0-0

Crockett

3-4

3-5

Lammert

0-0

Nash

0-0

0-4

0-1

Totals

200

15-40

14-26

7-25

Percentages: FG .375, FT .538. 3-Point Goals: 3-13, .231 (Wagner 2-3, Adams 1-2, Lewandowski 0-1, Tolbert 0-1, Willis 0-6). Team Rebounds: 1. Blocked Shots: 6 (Lewandowski 3, Tolbert 2, Nash). Turnovers: 25 (Wagner 5, Lewandowski 4, Willis 3, Minnis 3, Tolbert 2, Adams 2, Nash 2, Nurse, Crockett, Lammert). Steals: 5 (Wagner 2, Willis, Lewandowski, Crockett). Technical Fouls: None.

Kansas St.

–

Texas Tech

–

Att.–7,941. Officials–Tom O’Neill, Larry Spaulding, Doug Sirmons.

Nice return

The last time Victor Ojeleye was inside United Spirit Arena, he wasn’t able to play. He was an unselfish teammate, as former starter Curtis Kelly busted one of his shoes early in that game two years ago, and Ojeleye volunteered to trade shoes so he could continue playing.

The nice gesture was rewarded on Wednesday. The senior walk-on scored a season-high eight points and was a major contributor in the first half. K-State coach Frank Martin said Ojeleye has established himself as a player he can turn to in difficult times. Ojeleye was happy to help.

“It’s just a blessing, that’s what I attribute it to,” Ojeleye said. “It’s a lot of fun to be able to be out here and be with the guys and have so much fun in the locker room and be able to contribute in a win.”

Samuels, Spradling struggle

Of K-State’s five starters, Jamar Samuels contributed the least. The senior forward fouled out after 14 minutes with two turnovers. But Will Spradling didn’t perform much better. The sophomore guard had two points and three rebounds in 22 minutes.

Worth noting

Brian Smoller filled in on for usual play-by-play man Wyatt Thompson on the K-State radio broadcast for the second straight game on Wednesday. Thompson’s father died over the weekend. Thompson is expected to return for Saturday’s game against Oklahoma.… Texas Tech committed 25 turnovers and made 37.5 percent of its shots. K-State made just one three-pointer, with Angel Rodriguez sinking a shot from the outside.

— Kellis Robinett

More News

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Following the Kansas State basketball team’s 69-47 victory over Texas Tech on Wednesday at United Spirit Arena, coach Frank Martin viewed his bench players the same way the rest of us look at auto insurance.

He had no idea when, where or why he would need them against the Red Raiders, but when he did he was awfully glad they were there.

“That’s something that you need as a team,” Martin said. “Your bench can’t be potluck, because then as a coach you don’t know what to do. You don’t know who to put in there and then you lose confidence.”

That didn’t happen here. Not even close. K-State’s reserves outscored Texas Tech’s starters 38-34, and, in a roundabout way, won the game.

The Wildcats’ starters took the court in front of mostly empty red seats, but made the mistakes of a team playing in front of a record road crowd. The reserves came on strong and scored 24 points in the first half to give No. 22 K-State a 31-20 lead at the break.

Not only did K-State’s bench prove it was capable of outplaying Texas Tech on its own, it sent a serious message to Angel Rodriguez, Rodney McGruder, Jamar Samuels, Thomas Gipson and Will Spradling, who opened the game on the floor.

Play better in the second half or don’t play at all.

They responded. Though sixth-man Martavious Irving led K-State, 15-4 and 4-3 in the Big 12, with 16 points and also dished out four assists, McGruder scored 13 points while Rodriguez and Gipson both chipped in eight.

“We didn’t score the way that we needed to, but that happens on the road,” Martin said. “If you depend on outscoring people on the road, it’s going to be hard to win on the road. You have to make sure that you can protect the basket and be solid with your principles and have some toughness.

“On offense, you have to be who you are. The thing I was proudest of tonight was we missed a lot of shots, especially early in the game, but we didn’t settle.”

Still, things were tough early on. The Wildcats seemed intimidated early, and didn’t make a positive play before the first media timeout.

Texas Tech led 5-2 more than four minutes into the game, and Irving came off the bench to score K-State’s only points. It seemed as though the Wildcats were playing down to the competition — the Red Raiders, 7-12, 0-7, are the only winless team in Big 12 play — and the crowd of only a few thousand was the smallest it has seen since playing in Hawaii.

But then Martin inserted freshman Adrian Diaz into the game, and he beat the shot clock by making a jumper. Then Martin put sophomore Shane Southwell in the game, and he made an open shot. Then he sent in walk-on Victor Ojeleye and he made back-to-back jumpers.

“Nothing special,” said Ojeleye of what was working during that stretch. “It was just K-State team basketball, taking advantage of opportunities and trusting teammates.”

All the while, the Wildcats played outstanding defense and held Texas Tech without a point for more than seven minutes. Everything was working.

“We expected to beat them before the game started,” said Texas Tech’s Jordan Tolbert, who scored 18 points. “But things didn’t go that way.”

They turned bad fast. With the help of Irving, a K-State lineup almost entirely made up of bench players went on an 18-4 run and gave the Wildcats a lead they would never surrender.

“I just wanted to provide a spark off the bench and do something that was positive,” Irving said. “A lot of things early on weren’t going too well. We were missing a lot of shots. I just wanted to bring a lot of energy.

He did. And with that, the Wildcats went on to win their third straight game. Now they can begin preparing for a home game against Oklahoma on Saturday.

K-State’s bench put it in that position with an impressive first-half effort that saw Ojeleye score eight and Diaz six.

They didn’t contribute nearly as much in the second half — McGruder came out hot and K-State quickly stretched its lead to 23 points — but they didn’t need to.

That’s the beauty of an insurance policy.