Kansas St. 70, No. 9 Oklahoma St. 61

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) _ Larry Reid was the key player in Kansas State's biggest upset win in eight years. <br><br>With a 3-pointer here, a steal and a well-timed pass there, Reid had 18 points and seven

Saturday, February 2nd 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) _ Larry Reid was the key player in Kansas State's biggest upset win in eight years.

With a 3-pointer here, a steal and a well-timed pass there, Reid had 18 points and seven assists as the Wildcats beat No. 9 Oklahoma State 70-61 on Saturday.

``We've needed Larry to do more things,'' Kansas coach Jim Wooldridge said. ``We've needed him to get other guys more shots, play better defense and get our guys organized defensively, and be more of a leader out on the floor. All these things he's doing better right now.''

Kansas State hadn't beaten a Top Ten team since upsetting Kansas _ ranked No. 1 at the time _ 68-64 on Jan. 17, 1994, in Lawrence.

Saturday's win was also the Wildcats' first over Oklahoma State in six tries since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996-97, and Kansas State's second upset victory in four days after Wednesday's 71-70 defeat of Texas.

Next up: No. 2 Kansas, which visits on Monday _ and hasn't lost in Manhattan since Jan. 29, 1983.

``Everybody thought it would be a tough stretch for us,'' said Wildcats forward Matt Seibrandt, who had 15 points. ``We've come out and played. We've got one more, and it's the toughest one yet. Hopefully, we'll have the same fire and energy for Kansas.''

Saturday's score wasn't the only thing upsetting Oklahoma State forward Ivan McFarlin, who ripped his teammates' social habits in a postgame interview.

``People have been going out to parties, staying up late or hanging out with a girl all hours of the night,'' said McFarlin, who scored 14 points before fouling out. ``That affects your play. That's going to have to change.''

Pervis Pasco also had 15 points for the Wildcats (9-10, 3-5), who outshot the Cowboys (17-5, 4-5) 55 percent to 39 percent from the field.

The Wildcats also held a huge advantage at the free throw line _ 20-for-25 to 3-for-8 _ as Oklahoma State was called for 22 team fouls to Kansas State's 14.

Maurice Baker hit four 3-pointers and led the Cowboys with 16 points and nine rebounds, and Victor Williams also had 14 points.

The Wildcats, who never trailed Saturday, led 36-21 at halftime and only saw their lead go below double figures twice in the second half.

Oklahoma State's Cheyne Gadson drove the baseline for a layup with 8:38 left, cutting the margin to 55-46. But Nick Williams answered with a basket 12 seconds later, Gilson DeJesus made two free throws and Seibrandt hit a reverse layup with 6 1/2 minutes to go to pad Kansas State's lead to 61-46.

``We knew we had to keep the lead in double digits,'' Seibrandt said. ``If they got it under that, they'd be within striking distance. We couldn't let that happen.''

The Cowboys' press fueled a 9-0 run in the final minute, but once again they could get no closer than the final margin.

Oklahoma State went 1-for 10 from the field in the first seven minutes, and 9-for-28 (32 percent) for the half. Baker had more than half of the Cowboys' 21 first-half points, hitting three 3-pointers and scoring 11 points.

``It's a mystery to me,'' Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said. ``We've tried everything. We started with special plays and didn't make them, and Kansas State did an excellent job of scoring at the start.''

Pasco scored eight points as Kansas State took a 10-2 lead in the first 3 1/2 minutes, and Reid led a 90-second, 10-0 run that put the Wildcats up 24-11 with 8:29 left in the half.

Reid hit a 3-pointer with just under 10 minutes remaining, then followed with a steal and layup. After stripping the ball from Gadson under the Cowboys' basket, he passed the length of the court to Pasco, whose dunk capped a 5-for-5 performance from the field in the first half.

Seibrandt, who was 4-for-5 from the field in the half, completed a three-point play to close out the run.