Watch: Jerome Tang was FIRED UP After Beating Tulsa

“Get a stop, get a score, get a stop. We call that a championship point,” Tang said after the game, fired up and looking like he just finished a workout. “I love that. That’s what this is about! Go Cats!”

The play he’s talking about wasn’t flashy, but it was textbook basketball execution. Down three with slightly more than 30 seconds left, PJ Haggerty pushed the pace in an effort to get the ‘Cats a two-for-one opportunity. He hit the bucket to put the score at 83-82 in favor of Tulsa, before K-State’s pressure forced a turnover, allowing David Castillo to attack the rim and take the lead.

Haggerty did the heavy lifting on the box score with 31 points and 10 rebounds. David Castillo got the bucket that gave K-State the lead, but the play of the game came from Khamari McGriff, who jumped a passing lane and forced the turnover that flipped the script. That moment felt like the first time all night Kansas State played with real urgency.

Up to that point, they’d been wildly inconsistent. The Wildcats led early, gave it up, then traded blows the rest of the way. They shot just 4-of-21 from three and gave up a pile of second-chance points in the first half. That’s not the formula Tang is chasing, but it didn’t matter once that final stretch unfolded.

Kansas State moves to 4-0, and it wasn’t perfect, and probably shouldn’t have been this close, but they closed it when it counted. That’s what Tang is focused on. And based on the way he celebrated after the win, he believes this group is learning how to win together.