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| K-State’s Denis Clemente attacks a BYU defender on Saturday night in Oklahoma City. Staff photo by Michael Schweitzer. |
The hot hand was on display early too as the junior guard made 5-of-6 down the stretch in the first half, after missing his first two from behind the arc.
"You can't stop shooting if you miss your first shots," KSU guard Denis Clemente said. "You have to keep shooting until you find it and he did. He didn't miss much after that. I know he was feeling it.
Trailing 27-25 with 4:21 to go in the opening half, Pullen connected on his third trey to put the Cats in front for the first time in the game.
It was only the start of a performance that in the end ranks as one of the most prolific scoring nights in K-State NCAA tournament history. Pullen would go on to score 14 of K-State's last 17 points of the first half, giving the Wildcats a 10-point lead at the break.
"That's the Jacob Pullen I've known since I got here," forward Jamar Samuels said. "He can flat out score the ball. What he did tonight, I don't even have words to describe. I'm just happy he's on my team."
Clemente, who scored 19 points, agreed.
"When you get that hot, the hoop seems like an ocean," he said. "You have to get him the ball — you have to run the plays for him."
Pullen's 34 points ranks only behind Steve Henson and Chuckie Williams' 35 points scored in 1990 and 1975, respectively. Finishing 7-of-12 from behind the arc, Pullen's 3-point barrage tied Will Scott, who did it against DePaul in 1988 — the last time the Wildcats were in the Sweet 16.
"It's an amazing feeling," said Pullen, who made 8-of-15 from the field and all 11 attempts from the free throw line. "Like I said, it's a childhood dream. You watch basketball - watch basketball my whole life. I watched every game — all the NCAA tournaments — since I was a kid. For me to be able to be in this position — I thank Frank (Martin) all the time. It's an amazing thing that he was able to give me the opportunity."
Pullen's big game came on a night when K-State's bigs struggled against double teams from BYU's man defense and a zone that collapsed on the high post. With the inside clogged up, it left Pullen open on the outside, where he made the Cougars pay.
"They did a great job of kicking it out," Pullen said. "Denis (Clemente) made the extra passes. When I made a few (shots), Frank made the call to get me another one. Denis, he just did a great job of feeding me in the first half while I was hot. It was all my teammates —they did a great job of getting me the ball."
Though still a junior, Martin sees Pullen's performance as the culmination of a lot of hard work, work that started two years ago when the Wildcats advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament and lost to Wisconsin.
"As a coach, a teacher, a parent, whatever the words you want to use as a person that's in my job, you live for the moment where you get around guys like him who come in as freshman and accepts coaching, accepts discipline, accepts structure and they accept the responsibility of becoming a good player," Martin said.
