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After K-State erased a 16-point first-half deficit and built a 13-point second-half lead, it looked like the Wildcats might lose in heartbreaking fashion in the game69传媒檚 final moments. A wild loose-ball play nearly resulted in a go-ahead dunk by Arizona State freshman Jayden Quaintance with under five seconds to go.

Instead, David N69传媒橤uessan fouled Quaintance, and the 17-year-old missed both free throws, which preserved K-State69传媒檚 71-70 lead.

69传媒淎ll of a sudden, Jayden is flying through the air, and I69传媒檓 like, 69传媒楬oly crap, how did that happen?69传媒�69传媒� head coach Jerome Tang said. 69传媒淚69传媒檓 thankful Dave didn69传媒檛 give up on the play and fouled him. That69传媒檚 a tough situation for a 17-year-old to be in. He69传媒檚 a heck of a player.69传媒�

Tang said his players remained tough during the team69传媒檚 six-game losing streak to open the new year, which has helped them find success now.

69传媒淚 told our staff when I first got the job, let69传媒檚 find players that we don69传媒檛 mind losing with,69传媒� he said. 69传媒淭hese guys were great through the losing streak.69传媒�

Tuesday69传媒檚 win capped off an impressive road trip after the blowout upset win at Iowa State on Saturday. Coleman Hawkins said the Arizona State game provided a new challenge for the Wildcats.

69传媒淵ou69传媒檝e got to find a source of energy somewhere, and when you do come off those big wins, teams are going to prep for you and bring a little more juice as well,69传媒� Hawkins said.

Arizona State started off the game on a blistering 15-0 run. After Max Jones scored K-State69传媒檚 first basket almost seven minutes into the contest, it was the Wildcats69传媒� turn to go on a big run. K-State led by three at halftime and went up 48-35 midway through the second half.

Arizona State retook the lead with just under two minutes left thanks to a big run involving Alston Mason, who finished with a team-high 20 points. Basheer Jihad, BJ Freeman and Adam Miller also finished in double figures.

The only stoppage in second-half action came when Miller received a flagrant 2 and was ejected for an altercation with Dug McDaniel, who received a flagrant 1.

The Wildcats were led in scoring by David N69传媒橤uessan, who had a season-high 22 points to go with eight rebounds. Max Jones finished with 15 points and five rebounds. Brendan Hausen and Coleman Hawkins scored 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

Erasing early deficits on the road

One of the hardest tasks in college basketball is to win after going down double digits just minutes into a road game. K-State has now won two road games in a row in tough environments after finding themselves down early.

Tang said the slow start may have been caused by shooting too many 3s to open the contest. K-State69传媒檚 first four shots of the game were all missed 3s.

69传媒淲e have good 3-point shooters, but that69传媒檚 not necessarily how we want to start the game,69传媒� he said. 69传媒淭hey had more energy than us, and we weren69传媒檛 as focused as we needed to be.69传媒�

Tang said he had words for the team during the 15-0 stretch, but these comebacks come down to personal accountability.

69传媒淚t wasn69传媒檛 what I said in the huddle,69传媒� he said. 69传媒淚t was them flipping their mindset and being the great teammates that they are.69传媒�

Well-timed 3s

Although Tang said it was not his plan to open the game shooting many threes, the Wildcats hit several from beyond the arc in big moments.

Sharpshooter Hausen, who carries a 41.7% 3-point percentage, hit two big 3s to help build K-State69传媒檚 13-point second-half lead. Tang said he recruited Hausen when he was in high school and is embracing his presence on this year69传媒檚 K-State team.

69传媒淚69传媒檓 thankful I get to coach him,69传媒� he said. 69传媒淗e makes the defense distort. You69传媒檝e got to make an adjustment with him on the court because there69传媒檚 a lot of defensive gravity towards him. As soon as you make a mistake, he makes you pay.69传媒�

Despite the slow night scoring, Hawkins69传媒� biggest play of the night was a go-ahead deep 3 with 1:28 left in the game.

Frontcourt control

K-State69传媒檚 paint presence was a large factor in the win in Tempe. The Sun Devils only shot the ball 20 times inside the three-point line, and when they did try to score inside, they were frequently met with resistance from Hawkins and N69传媒橤uessan.

On offense, the two meshed, with N69传媒橤uessan taking the role of scorer. Hawkins finished with seven assists.

69传媒淚t feels like a bunch of those were to me,69传媒� said N69传媒橤uessan. 69传媒淸Hawkins69传媒橾 IQ is really high, so it69传媒檚 easy to play with another frontcourt player like that.69传媒�

Hawkins said teaming up with N69传媒橤uessan in the frontcourt this season has helped him post a career-high 4.4 assists per game.

69传媒淚 just don69传媒檛 like being selfish,69传媒� Hawkins said. 69传媒淚 like playing team basketball. Teams try to rotate and double-team me when I post up, so I like looking for guys. I like to pass.69传媒�

The Wildcats also won the rebound battle, 38-34.

Up next

K-State will look to make it five straight with a home rivalry matchup against No. 16 Kansas on Saturday. Tipoff is at 1 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.

The Wildcats lost the first matchup in Lawrence 84-74 after falling behind 14-0 early.

69传媒淚t69传媒檚 another opportunity to ... try to beat a ranked team,69传媒� Hawkins said. 69传媒淚69传媒檓 always looking forward to a challenge.69传媒�