Ramblers fall short to #5 K-State

Jacob Pullen scored 19 points in a triumphant homecoming, and No. 5 Kansas State hung on to beat Loyola 68-60 on Saturday.The win was the fifth straight for the Wildcats (9-1), whose only loss was to No. 1 Duke.In this one, they were out of synch in the first half and nearly blew a 14-point lead in the second – barely escaping against a team that hasn’t beaten a top-five opponent in 26 years.It wasn’t an easy day for Pullen, a senior from Maywood. His mom works as a database manager at Loyola, and with a large group of family and friends watching, he shot just 5 of 17 but pulled down nine rebounds in his only college appearance in Chicago.Pullen was adamant he was not overwhelmed by it all, saying basketball is “the only thing” that doesn’t make him nervous.Martavious Irving scored 12 points and Curtis Kelly added 10 for the Wildcats, who won despite going 21 of 35 at the foul line and being outrebounded 45-38.Kansas State blew out the Ramblers last season. No such luck this time.Ben Averkamp scored 17 for Loyola (8-3), which last beat a top-five team with a one-point win over then-No. 4 Illinois on Dec. 22, 1984. The Ramblers nearly pulled this one out even though they were a miserable 20 of 64 from the field and 4 for 19 from 3-point range.