Abmas 12th man to reach 3,000 career points as Texas fends off Kansas State 62-56

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Dai Dai Ames ejected with a Flagrant 2 foul for Kansas State

Kansas State's Dai Dai Ames is ejected in the second half after earning Flagrant 2 with a hard foul on Texas' Chendall Weaver.

Updated: Feb 20, 2024, 04:30 am

AUSTIN, Texas -- — Max Abmas became the 12th player in men's Division I history to reach 3,000 career points and Texas held off Kansas State 62-56 on Monday night.

Abmas, a graduate transfer who played his first four seasons for Oral Roberts University, entered play needing six points to reach the milestone. He finished with eight and has scored 450 points for the Longhorns (17-9, 6-7 Big 12 Conference) this season.

Dylan Disu finished with a game-high 20 points for Texas. He made 5 of 11 shots from the floor and 10 of his 11 free throws, adding eight rebounds and three steals. Tyrese Hunter had nine points and seven boards. Dillon Mitchell totaled eight points and 10 rebounds with a pair of blocked shots.

Arthur Kaluma paced the Wildcats (15-11, 5-8) with 15 points and seven rebounds. Tylor Perry added 13 points and four assists, but he also had six of K-State's 13 turnovers. David N'Guessan pitched in with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Disu had eight points, Mitchell scored six and the pair combined for half of Texas' 22 rebounds as the Longhorns took a 27-22 advantage into halftime. N'Guessan had seven points to keep Kansas State close.

Both teams struggled to 32.3% shooting in the first half. That included Texas missing 10 of 12 attempts from 3-point range and the Wildcats misfiring on 9 of 10. The Longhorns were 5 for 7 at the free-throw line, while K-State made 1 of 4.

Abmas reached the milestone on a jumper with 14:04 remaining in the second half, giving Texas a 35-31 lead. Ithiel Horton followed with a 3-pointer and Hunter's layup capped a 7-0 run as the Longhorns moved in front 40-31.

Kansas State closed within 48-42 on a layup by N'Guessan with five minutes left. Texas pushed its lead to 12 — its largest of the game — but Kaluma had a four-point play and Will McNair added a layup to get the Wildcats within 54-48 with 2:12 left to play.

Cam Carter hit two free throws with 50 seconds remaining to cut K-State's deficit to 56-52, but Disu sank four foul shots in a row to seal it.

Texas travels to play No. 9 Kansas on Saturday. Kansas State returns home to play No. 25 BYU on Saturday.

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