K-State guard Lance Harris guards Denver's Erik Benzel during the first half of Wednesday's win at Bramlage Coliseum.

Manhattan, KS (U-WIRE) -- In a game pitting teams known for strong defenses and less than stellar offenses, the K-State men's basketball team showed it had the upper hand in both, as the Wildcats defeated the Washington State Cougars 62-53 at Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday.

Coach Jim Wooldridge said the Wildcats (3-0) turned in their top performance of the year against the Cougars (2-1) from the Pac-10 Conference.

"I thought we just had a better team performance at both ends of the floor," Wooldridge said.

Up against a Washington State team that had given up just 42 points to its first two opponents, the Wildcats bettered that number by 20. K-State also turned the ball over only nine times against a Cougar defense that forced an average of 19 a contest heading into Saturday.

"Taking care of the ball was a big part of being able to beat these guys," Wooldridge said.

Sophomore guard Fred Peete led all scorers with 18 points, and senior forward Jeremiah Massey added 15 points and five rebounds on the afternoon.

Much like the Wildcats' previous two games, the team struggled out of the gate, as it trailed 30-28 at halftime.

The second half was a different story.

K-State went on a 13-5 run to start the half and never never trailed again.

The Wildcats shot 42 percent from the field and were 11-of-13 from the free-throw line in the half to hold off Washington State.

Several Wildcats tried to explain why the team, which has outscored opponents in the second half in all three regular season games, plays so much better after halftime.

"We see 'hey this team's sticking with us, they're pretty good'," said sophomore guard Lance Harris, who scored eight points and hit two 3-pointers off the bench. "So, in the second half, we come out and get fired up a little bit more."

Freshman guard Clent Stewart, who had a team-high six assists, said the Wildcats need to be consistent with their effort at 7 tonight when the Wildcats play Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Bramlage Coliseum.

"Hopefully, Monday we can change that and come out with intensity for two halves," Stewart said.

K-State 60, Denver 56

On Wednesday night, the Wildcats overcame a poor team-shooting performance and a tough Denver inside game to defeat the Pioneers 60-56 at Bramlage Coliseum.

The Wildcats shot just 34 percent from the field for the game.

Senior forward Jeremiah Massey led K-State with 15 points and nine rebounds, while sophomore guard Fred Peete added 10 points and four rebounds.

Denver center Yemi Nicholson caused the Wildcat defense problems all night. Nicholson had a game-high 27 points and grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds - tieing a Bramlage Coliseum record for rebounds by a K-State opponent.

(C) 2004 Kansas State Collegian via U-WIRE