KSU ‘couldn’t get over hump’

Manhattan ? What started as a cute little chimpanzee 11 years ago has turned into a gigantic gorilla on the back of Kansas State’s men’s basketball program.

So as much as it goes against KSU coach Jim Wooldridge’s style to address the past — especially his school’s dismal 28-game slump against Kansas University going into Wednesday’s game — Wooldridge felt he had to this time.

That gorilla wasn’t going to go away.

“I brought the streak up to the team because they were going to hear about it,” Wooldridge said. “And they needed to hear it from me. I addressed it one time and moved on.”

Whatever went down prior to Wednesday’s game, it didn’t help a whole lot. KU nabbed consecutive win No. 29 over the Wildcats, a 74-65 victory at Bramlage Coliseum.

The Sunflower Showdown did have some drama — KSU made it a game late after being down by as many as 17 points midway through the second half. But KU’s clutch shooting down the stretch and sweet touch at the foul stripe late made the in-state rivalry game the same old story.

“We thought we had a shot when we started coming back,” KSU guard Fred Peete said. “Then Kansas hit some big shots that took a lot of momentum away from us. We couldn’t quite get over the hump.”

Peete, along with forward Jeremiah Massey, provided a strong inside-outside combination that forced Kansas to spread out defensively in the second half. Peete hit six three-pointers and finished with 20 points, and Massey had 20 of his own.

It was noble, but it wasn’t as good as KU’s combo of Wayne Simien and Keith Langford, who combined for 47 points and 18 rebounds Wednesday. J.R Giddens chipped in 18 points, including a big three-pointer with 1:44 remaining to put KU up 64-56.

It was the ultimate deflator — and ultimate example of how the gorilla got so big. Just like each of the previous 28 games in the series, it came down to decent players in purple getting beat by really good players in crimson and blue.

Kansas State Coach Jim Wooldridge argues with a referee during a game Feb. 9, 2005, in Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan.

“They’re going to continue to get great players,” Wooldridge said. “The only thing you can do to put yourself in a better position is continue to get better players yourself. Then you see if you can close the gap.”

Asked to size up the gap at this point, Wooldridge avoided the question, saying, “I would say that I like my players.”

Kansas State (13-7 overall, 3-6 Big 12 Conference) has lost three straight heading into Saturday’s game at Texas. But for one night, with the whole state watching, it was the 29-game streak that was front and center.

Even the one-game-at-a-time Wooldridge knew that.

“It is what it is,” Wooldridge said. “The public and everybody talks about the number of games, but it’s the individual game that should become the centerpiece.”