"I was like, `Great players step up and do great things when they're needed,"' said the 6-foot-9 sophomore, who then proceeded to do just that.

Taking control of the game, he grabbed two key rebounds and scored five points in a 90-second stretch, helping No. 10 Kansas to a 77-65 victory over Kansas State that stretched the Jayhawks' winning streak over its archrival to 21 straight.

"I just tried to step up for my team, making sure I'm knocking down my shots," said Gooden, who had 17 points and seven rebounds after missing five games with a hand injury.

"He really gave that team a boost," said Kansas State's Travis Reynolds. "He seemed like he was fresher than everybody else."

The Jayhawks (22-5, 11-4 Big 12), who have beaten their frustrated state rivals 18 straight times in Manhattan and have never lost in the Wildcats' Bramlage Coliseum, got double-figure scoring from five players.

The near-capacity crowd was the biggest of the year for Kansas State (9-17, 3-12), but included a noisy contingent of Jayhawks fans who made the 90-minute drive down I-70 from Lawrence.

In one section, people held up a huge banner that read, "Allen Fieldhouse West, 13-0 since 1988."

About half the crowd seemed to roar every time either team did anything.

While the Jayhawks shrug off the streak, it has clearly become a source of embarrassment for Kansas State players and fans.

"I heard about it all week," Kansas State guard Larry Reid said. "It's an important thing to us because we are part of this tradition and this team. Whenever we can get a win it's going to be great."

After Quentin Buchanan hit a 12-footer to get Kansas State within 63-58, Gooden made two free throws. Then he went back to the line and missed the back end of a 1-and-1 but got his own rebound and a stick-back that made it 66-58.

He then rebounded Kansas State's next two misses and capped his spree with a short jumper that gave the Jayhawks a 68-58 lead with 4:32 to go.

"Drew was really fired up. You could tell," said forward Nick Collison, who had 13 points for Kansas, while Kirk Hinrich had 12 and Jeff Boschee and Kenny Gregory each had 11.

Reid had 16 points for Kansas State, including two straight baskets that halted a Kansas rally early in the second half.

Hinrich's basket gave the Jayhawks an 11-point lead a moment later but Reynolds responded with a three-point play.

Chenowith, Hinrich and Gooden were all saddled with three fouls with about 12 minutes left. So Collison took over down low and hit two straight short jumpers and a free throw, staving off a Wildcats charge that got the lead down to four points.

An angry Kansas coach Roy Williams pulled all his starters out of the game early in the first half and inserted reserves, who immediately sliced five points off Kansas State's six-point lead before giving way once again to the first-teamers.

"They had seven turnovers in the first five minutes," Williams said of the starters. "They weren't doing what we practiced."