Dec. 23, 2006
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Cartier Martin scored a game-high 23 points to lead Kansas State over New Mexico 72-56 in the championship game of the Las Vegas Classic on Saturday.
J.R. Giddens led New Mexico (9-3) with 12 points, going 5-of-11 from the field. Darren Prentice added 10 points, going 6-of-7 from the free-throw line.
Martin, who went 8-of-15 from the field, was named MVP of the eight-team, four-game tournament.
Bill Walker had 13 points with eight rebounds, while David Hoskins added 11 points for Kansas State (10-3).
The Wildcats avenged an earlier loss at New Mexico, 78-54, on Nov. 21. New Mexico finished the tournament 3-1.
The Lobos jumped to a 13-8 lead to start the game, but the Wildcats answered with a 13-2 spurt and never relinquished the lead again.
Kansas State missed its first seven 3-point attempts, but went up 33-24 at halftime when Martin hit the team’s first 3-pointer with two seconds until halftime. Martin had 13 first-half points.
In the second half, New Mexico never got closer than 39-33 with 14:21 left. Kansas State then went on a 19-8 run to seal it.
The Wildcats shot from the field 28-of-51 for 55 percent, while the Lobos were 18-of-50 (36 percent). Neither team shot well from the 3-point line. New Mexico was 4-of-20 and the Wildcats were 3-of-13.