After being held to his lowest point total in conference play and his second lowest tally of the season, Kansas State forward Michael Beasley sealed the deal.

On an intentionally-missed free throw by freshman Diante Garrett, Beasley grabbed his ninth rebound and was fouled in the closing seconds, making both free throws and wrapping up a 73-69 Wildcats victory over Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum on Saturday.

Beasley, who entered the game ranked third in scoring at 26.9 points per game and was averaging 36.5 points over his last four games, was held to just 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting by the tough Cyclone defense.

Beasley’s previous lowest total score in Big 12 play was 17 points in road games against Missouri and Nebraska earlier this year.

“I liked our execution defensively today,” coach Greg McDermott said. “Obviously, our defense was designed to make it tough on [Bill] Walker and Beasley, and we probably made it as tough on them collectively as anybody they’ve played all season.”

Kansas State coach Frank Martin agreed that Iowa State’s defense was one of the toughest they’ve seen all year.

“Give them credit,” he said. “They probably defended us better than anybody.”

Saturday’s defensive effort was greatly improved over the last time the two teams met – in Manhattan, Kan., when Beasley went off for 33 points and 15 rebounds in an 82-57 Kansas State win.

“Our goal was to just limit his touches,” freshman forward Craig Brackins said of the defensive scheme.

“We modified our defensive plan this time, and I felt a lot more comfortable not letting him get the ball. When he did, we all helped, so it was a lot more comfortable knowing that your teammates have your back.”

Sophomore Wesley Johnson agreed that denying the ball to player of Beasley’s caliber is an effective way to keep him off the scoreboard.

“We all just helped and tried to keep the ball out of his hands as much as possible,” he said. “We kept him out of the game with the little stuff and never let him hurt us.”

For the better part of the first half, the ISU defense was able to stifle Beasley, who had just two points in the first 14 minutes of the game. After netting three straight shots late in the first half, Beasley never found a rhythm in the second half as he made only one field goal.

Although his Cyclones came up short, McDermott said he was proud of the effort given on both ends of the floor by a team that had little to play for in the final regular season game before the Big 12 tournament.

“I’m not sure how many teams would have played with the heart that we’ve played with the last two games, given the situation,” McDermott said.