Missouri went on a 17-1 spree en route to victory

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Missouri guard Rickey Paulding scored 17 points against Kansas State on Saturday, but one basket had the most impact.

Paulding's thundering dunk over Frank Richards in the second half helped the Tigers rally from a 10-point deficit and beat Kansas State 79-69.

"That was the biggest play of the day," Missouri coach Quin Snyder said. "That was just spectacular. You don't see that often. He and Jason Conley are playing with tremendous confidence right now."

With the Tigers trailing 39-31, Paulding jammed over Richards with 17:07 to go in the game. Richards was called for a foul, sending Wildcats fans into an uproar.

Paulding completed the three-point play, igniting a run that put Missouri up 48-40 with 12:39 to go. Paulding scored nine points during the stretch.

"It was a big play for us," Paulding said. "It took the crowd out of the game and we fed off of that. I knew I had to make shots in the second half. I made them."

Conley added 20 points as the red-hot Tigers (15-10, 9-5 Big 12) won their sixth straight of the season and swept the Wildcats (12-13, 4-10) for the third straight season.

"We have the fire that everyone wants right now," Conley said. "When we are down by 10, we see 0-to-0 on the scoreboard."

The Wildcats trimmed the lead to three, but Paulding hit a 3-pointer with 11:05 left and the Wildcats never got closer.

Arthur Johnson scored 14 points and Travon Bryant added 10 for the Tigers.