while the Mercury are putting up big offensive numbers, theyre struggling on the defensive end of the floor. Phoenix is last in points allowed, surrendering 88.6 points per game, and is 10th in reboundin

AMES, Iowa -- Kansas State quarterback Jesse Ertz celebrated his return to Iowa with one of the most complete games of his young career.Ertz rushed for a career-high 106 yards on just nine carries and Kansas State held off host Iowa State 31-26 on Saturday for its third win in four games.Ertz, a sophomore who broke the Iowa prep record for career touchdowns at tiny Mediapolis High, added 151 yards passing with a TD for the Wildcats (5-3, 3-2 Big 12). They beat the Cyclones (1-7, 0-5) for the ninth year in a row.Obviously it had a little more meaning to it. But overall, its one game at a time and were just trying to put together some wins and some streaks and get some momentum, Ertz said.Iowa State pulled to within 17-10 early in the third quarter, but K-State answered with two long scoring drives that put it ahead by 21.But Kansas State nearly let the Cyclones steal it late -- and coach Bill Snyder wasnt too pleased about it.Deshaunte Jones had a 5-yard TD catch with 51 seconds left for Iowa State. But the Cyclones failed to execute the ensuing onside kick, touching the ball before it went 10 yards.Iowa State outscored the Wildcats 16-0 in the fourth.Im not saying its so doggone easy. But the only way you can become successful is start, finish and be consistent in between. Were not doing that, Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said.Alex Barnes, Winston Dimel and Justin Silmon all had short rushing TDs for the Wildcats, who ran for 247 yards.Backup Jacob Park had 301 yards passing and two touchdowns for the Cyclones. But he missed David Montgomery on a wide-open pass on fourth-and-1 at the K-State 1 with seven minutes left.Im going to take this on me and our staff. Theres some things that happened that we just cant allow to happen eight to nine weeks into the season, Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said.THE TAKEAWAYKansas State: The Wildcats are now just a win shy of bowl eligibility. With a home date against woeful Kansas looming, that seems imminent. What kind of bowl Kansas State gets invited to remains up in the air, with tough games against Oklahoma State, Baylor and TCU remaining.Iowa State: The Cyclones had some promising moments on offense in the second half, outgaining K-State 493-398. But Kansas State converted eight of 12 third downs and scored on all five of its trips to the red zone. The Cyclones have let up at least 27 points in all five of their league games.PIVOTAL MOMENTDown 17-3, Iowa State opened the second half by recovering an onside kick -- and seven plays later Park found Deshaunte Jones for a 24-yard TD pass to make it 17-10. But K-State answered with a 14-play, 85-yard touchdown drive that sucked the life out Jack Trice Stadium.PARK BLOWS ITPark got the Cyclones to K-States 1-yard line with a chance to pull his team within seven. But the Wildcats stuffed Iowa State on three straight running plays, and Park overthrew Montgomery on a rollout that left both of them yards away from the nearest defender. Park knew the significance of his mistake immediately, falling to his knees with his head in his hands.THE NUMBERSBill Snyder won his 198th game, placing him 25th all-time in career FBS victories. ... Iowa State recorded its first safety since 2006 in the fourth quarter. ... The Wildcats are 23-4 against Iowa State since 1990. ... Iowa States Allen Lazard caught eight passes for 134 yards. He has now had at least one reception in 31 straight games, a school record.UP NEXTKansas State hosts Oklahoma State on Nov. 5. The Cowboys toppled previously-unbeaten West Virginia 37-20 on Saturday.Iowa State has Oklahoma coming in on Thursday. The Cyclones havent beaten the Sooners in Ames since 1963.---More college football from The AP at www.collegefootball.ap.org Vapormax Plus White Cheap . The 15th-ranked Canadian men lost the opening two games of their European tour: 19-15 to No. 17 Georgia and 21-20 to No. Vapormax Plus Black Cheap . One game after a miserable showing in Oklahoma City, Gay tied a career high with 41 points and the Sacramento Kings cruised to a 114-97 victory at the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. http://www.airmaxplusstoresale.com/air-max-plus-97-cheap.html . Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is. Vapormax Plus Black Sale . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. Nike Air Max Plus Tn Ultra Cheap . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. Coming off her triple-double in a win at Atlanta, Phoenixs Brittney Griner leads the Mercury into Dallas to take on the Wings on Tuesday in a battle of the two highest-scoring teams in the WNBA at College Park Arena.Griner poured 27 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked 10 shots against Atlanta, leading the Mercury to their third win in their last four games. It was only the sixth triple-double in WNBA history and first since the 2014 season. Phoenix (8-10) outscored Atlanta 23-6 in the final seven minutes of Sundays win.Led by Griner and Diana Taurasi, the Mercury are averaging 88.2 points, tops in the league. Taurasi is fourth in the league in scoring at 19.0 per game. Griner is averaging 14.3 points and leads the league in blocks at 2.7 per game.But while the Mercury are putting up big offensive numbers, theyre struggling on the defensive end of the floor. Phoenix is last in points allowed, surrendering 88.6 points per game, and is 10th in rebounding at 31.8 per game.The Wings (8-10) hung 117 points on the Mercury, albeit in a triple-overtime road win June 188.dddddddddddd Dallas followed that win up two days later with a 100-90 home victory over the Mercury.The Wings are averaging 86.2 points per game, but, like Phoenix, have struggled defensively. Theyre allowing 87.6 points per game, the second most in the league, behind the Mercury.Odyssey Sims paces six Dallas players averaging in double figures. Sims is averaging 15.1 points per game, followed by Karima Christmas (14.1), Skylar Diggins (13.3), Glory Johnson (12.1) and Plenette Pierson (10.4) and Aerial Powers (10.0).The Mercury and Stars are in a group of Western Conference teams trying to narrow the gap on league powers Minnesota and Los Angeles. The top eight teams, regardless of conference, make the playoffs this season. Phoenix and Dallas are in a tie for seventh in the overall league standings.The two teams met seven times last season, including in the Western Conference playoffs, with the Mercury winning five of seven meetings. ' ' '