The Pack’s season was cut short after a heartbreaking, 60-57, loss at the hands of the Jayhawks in the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore forward C.J. Leslie led the team in scoring with 18 points along with junior forward Richard Howell with 16 rebounds.
“First of all, we’re obviously very disappointed,” head coach Mark Gottfried said.
The Wolfpack got out to a hot start in the first half with a 13-5 run in the first six minutes of the half. Sophomore forward C.J. Leslie contributed 6 points during the stretch.
After the run, the Pack ran into foul trouble and the Jayhawks ripped off a run of it’s own. State’s front line, including Leslie and junior forward Richard Howell, each picked up 2 fouls in the first half and junior forward DeShawn Painter picked up three of his own, leading to an 18-3 run by Kansas.
State was able to claw its way back into the contest and bring it to within 4 points with two minutes left in the half.
With the game tied at 28 all, Kansas guard Conner Teahan hit a jump shot from inside the arch and another shot from Thomas Robinson soon followed, bringing the score to 32-28. The Pack fired back with a three from junior forward Scott Wood and a Leslie layup to close the half and give State the lead, 33-32.
Leslie led the Pack in scoring with 12 at the half. State shot 33.3 percent from the field and went 4-9 from beyond the arch, two of which came from sophomore guard Lorenzo Brown.
The Pack survived an early run to keep the game within reach. State ended up down by 3 points with 13.5 seconds left.
On State’s first attempt to tie the game with a 3-point shot, Wood caught the Brown pass off of a flare screen, but he stepped out of bounds with five seconds left and gave Kansas another chance to put the game on ice.
After a missed Kansas free throw, the Pack got another chance to take the ball down the floor and attempt another three with 2.9 ticks left on the clock. Howell caught the pass above the three-point line but wasn’t able to drain the desperation shot and Kansas walked away with the 60-57 win.
The Jayhawks will go on to play North Carolina in the Elite Eight on Sunday.
The Pack finished 24-13 on the season and reached its first Sweet Sixteen in eight years.
