KANSAS CITY — Â Rodney McGruder was in the zone for a spell tonight.
Knocking down jumpers. Finishing drives to the hoop. Doing it all.
He helped fuel an 11-0 second half run with eight points to go with a game-high 24, and No. 11 Kansas State beat Texas 66-49 Â in the 2nd round of the Phillips 66 Big-12 Tournament at the Spirit Center on Thursday.
His Wildcats (26-7) were thankful as they move on to the semifinals to face the winner of  Baylor/Oklahoma State in the Big-12 tournament on Friday.
A Rodney McGruder layup gave the Wildcats a, 45-36 lead, midway through the second half, and started a spurt that would help separate from the Longhorns ( 15-17).
Ultimately, Kansas State’s pressure defense was too much for the Texas’ backcourt. The Horns committed 15 turnovers on the night. Sophomore point guard Myck Kabongo was held scoreless until :33 seconds remaining the game, adding two points,and seven assists.
Texas run of 14 consecutive NCAA tournaments appearances officially comes to an end.
Kansas State began on an 11-0 early run, 12:20 in 1st half. But a Lammert lefty baseline runner ended the Wildcat early spurt. 15-13.
Kansas State finishes the first half on a 17-11 run, highlighted by Rodney McGruder’s 12 points, and five boards.
Julien Lewis led the Horns with 13 points, and Holmes tallied 10 points, all in the first half. Ioannis Papapetrou and Prince Ibeh combined for nine points, all in the first half as well.
A Holmes three-pointer gave  Texas a 5-0, lead at 18:34 mark of 1st half, followed by two early dunks by center Camron Ridley, giving the Longhorns a, 9-4 advantage.
Wildcats’ point guard Angel Rodriguez was 3-for-3 from three-point land, for nine points through the early second half. He tallied 13 points, and five assists.
