MANHATTAN, Kansas (Ticker) -- Gilson DeJesus seemingly was everywhere.
DeJesus collected 19 points and a career-high 15 rebounds as Kansas State stretched its winning streak to eight games with a 68-44 rout of No. 21 Texas Tech in the Big 12 Conference opener for both schools.
DeJesus drained a 3-pointer 22 seconds into the game after Texas Tech (10-2) scored the first basket for its only lead. His 3-pointer opened an 11-2 advantage just over two minutes into the contest.
"He played great," Kansas State coach Jim Wooldridge said. "Obviously, his 19 points count, but his rebounding and his tenacity on the defensive end has provided this team with a very sturdy player on the perimeter."
Kansas State (10-4) continued to build on the lead on a 3-pointer by DeJesus that made it 21-10 midway through the half. After a foul on Texas Tech's Will Chavis, coach Bob Knight was whistled for his first technical with the Red Raiders with 88 seconds left before halftime.
Frank Richards split the free throws and Quentin Buchanan was fouled and converted a pair to end a 9-0 spurt for a 36-18 advantage. That got the sellout crowd of 13,340 fans on its feet at Bramlage Coliseum.
"It was really different," Richards said. "It felt really good to see the fans come out and support us like they did. It was the energy that we brought and everything. I felt like there was no limit."
The Wildcats placed four players in double figures as Tim Ellis scored 15 points and Pervis Pasco added 14. Freshman Marques Hayden made all eight free throws and had 10 points.
The Red Raiders were coming off Monday's impressive 75-63 victory at San Diego State and were looking for a sixth straight win. But they managed only nine baskets in the first half and were even worse in the second, shooting a meager 21 percent (7-of-33).
"People have a tendency to look at a stat sheet and say, `You know, we just didn't shoot the ball well,'" Knight said. "Now we didn't shoot it well, but we just got outhustled. We got outscrapped. I mean that at every single position."
The 26 percent shooting (16-of-61) was a season low for Texas Tech. Kansas State has held seven of its last eight opponents below 40 percent.
"If we don't defend and we don't rebound, it's going to be difficult for our team to win," Wooldridge said. "In those eight games and tonight, it is the cornerstone of our team."
Kansas State won for the first time in nine games against a team coached by Knight.
Andre Emmett led Texas Tech with 18 points and Kasib Powell added 12. But DeJesus overwhelmed Powell and Pawel Storozynski inside, limiting them to seven rebounds.
"We got ahead at the beginning of the game, but we were still a little worried about their offense because they are a great team," DeJesus said. "We had to go back and play good defense for the entire game."
Pasco grabbed 11 rebounds and Hayden added nine as the Wildcats pounded the Red Raiders on the boards, 51-26. No Texas Tech player had more than four rebounds.
Texas Tech suffered its worst loss since another visit to the Sunflower State, a 108-81 defeat at Kansas last February.
"They sustained themselves for 40 minutes," Knight said. "What they did, we talked about."