Kansas State started slowly but came on strong to defeat Washington State 70-56 in the Wildcat Classic on Saturday night at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.

The Wildcats outscored the Cougars 42-30 in the second half.

Kansas State used stifling inside defense in the second half to shut down Washington State.

The Cougars shot just 32 percent from the field after halftime. Only a 5-of-11 effort from beyond the 3-point arc kept them in the game.

Kansas State (9-1) was led by Wesley Iwundu with 15 points and Barry Brown with 14 (11 in the second half). Dean Wade added 11 points and Xavier Sneed had 10.

Washington State (5-5) was led by Josh Hawkinson and Charles Callison with 10 points apiece. Hawkinson also had 10 rebounds.

The Wildcats pulled away to open the second half. They outscored the Cougars 20-9 to start the half, limiting Washington State to three field goals (all 3-pointers) until 12:05 remaining in the game.

With 1:41 left, the Wildcats had stretched the lead to almost 20 at 70-51.

Washington State scored the first nine points of the game and Kansas State spent most of the rest of the half playing catch-up.

The Wildcats tied the score at 23 with 4:17 left in the half and didn't lead until 47 seconds remained when they grabbed a 28-26 advantage they carried into intermission.

The Wildcats controlled the defensive boards, yielding only one offensive rebound. Neither team could find the bucket in the first half, with Washington State shooting just 38 percent from the field and Kansas State going 35 percent from the floor.

Kansas State was led by Iwundu with 10 points and Sneed with eight in the opening half.