Freshman sensation Cade Cunningham has 15 points and Rondel Walker – in his first start of the season – added 10 points, six rebounds, three blocked steals and one block as Oklahoma State topped Kansas State 67-60 Saturday in Stillwater.

Bryce Williams also scored 10 points for OSU (13-6, 6-6 Big 12).

“He plays the same whether he starts and plays 40 minutes or he comes off the bench and plays 15,” said OSU coach Mike Boynton. “He’s just going to be a really, really good player. He brings great energy. He’s really, really focused on helping us defensively as much as possible and I thought him and Avery Anderson really set the tone for us today.”

Boynton thinks his young but talented team is getting closer to their potential.

“I’d say without the benefit of watching the film I felt good about how we played for about 35 minutes, which is getting closer,” he said. “We’ve been doing about 29, 30, in some cases not even that much. Today, I thought it was more complete from an effort and mentality standpoint. The way we played was the right way to play.”

Oklahoma State held Kansas State to 25% shooting in the first half.  OSU still has a problem with allowing teams to make runs in the second half.

 “We’re looking for the perfect game,” Boynton said. “We’re looking for the perfect scenario where you get up double digits by halftime and you extend it. The other team just kind of lays down and you go away and you have a laugher. There are several things that play into that. One, we haven’t shown the maturity to really extend the lead from 20 to 30 and we got up 20 at some point today. And you’ve got to give credit to the other team.”

The effects of a tough Big 12 schedule may have caught up with the Wildcats.

“You practice how you play,” said KSU coach Bruce Weber. “We came out kind of listless. I’m sure some guys are tired. I thought it was the first time where Nijel, who is the Energizer bunny, seems to kind of go and go, but he hit a little bit of a wall. To his credit, he came back in the second half and brought some energy. We had to get him out there. It’s been a long, hard season and a long, hard stretch.”

Oklahoma State (13-6, 6-6 in the Big 12) was scheduled to host Iowa State Tuesday night. Kansas State (5-17, 1-12 in the Big 120 was scheduled to host Kansas Wednesday night.