TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Kira Lewis Jr. served as a seldom-used sub on Bruce Weber’s USA team this summer as the point guard averaged 4.0 points and 1.6 assists over 10 minutes during a seven-game gold-medal run in the FIBA U19 World Cup. Saturday, Lewis showed the Kansas State head coach what he can do over a full game.

Lewis scored a game-high 26 points over 36 minutes leading Alabama to a 77-74 victory over Kansas State in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The Crimson Tide (12-7) extended its winning streak to four games, its longest streak of the season. Meanwhile, Kansas State (8-11) lost for the sixth time in seven outings.

"He played at a high level," Weber said of Lewis. "I said earlier it's an honor for Kira to be on the (USA) team. Whether you play 20 minutes or you're playing five minutes, to be able to represent the United States and to win a gold, it's unbelievable.

"But the other thing is when I watched the guys around the country, did it help them? Did it help them get better? And he's a better player. I think Coach Oats has done a nice job, part he's a year older. I hope he had that experience that put him into another year. He played very well."

Holding on to a two-point lead early in the second half, Alabama pulled away with a 14-3 run. Following a jumper from Lewis, Jaden Shackelford converted on an and-one layup before hitting a 3 in the corner to put the Crimson Tide up 10. Shackelford then drew a charge on Kansas State’s ensuing possession which was followed by a 3 from Lewis to give Alabama a commanding 56-43 lead with 13:52 remaining.

Kansas State answered back with a 13-1 run of its own, trimming Alabama’s lead to 62-61 with 6:34 to play. However, that’s as close as the Wildcats would get as Lewis provided layups on back to back possessions to keep the Crimson Tide in front. The two baskets stopped a seven-minute drought for Alabama.

"When a team makes a run like that, you just figure out ways as a point guard to stop the bleeding," Lewis said. "Get a bucket and try to get a stop and try to get more buckets. I just tried to take it upon myself, make the right read and get a basket for us."

Kansas State provided a few anxious moments late as Mike McGuirl hit a 3 to cut the score to 74-72 with 16 seconds remaining. However, Herbert Jones hit both of his free throws at the other end to put Alabama back up by two possessions. A half-court heave by Cartier Diarra bricked off the backboard to clinch the win for the Crimson Tide. The win was Alabama's first by fewer than five points this season.

Lewis’ 26 points came on 8 of 12 shooting as the speedy point guard also chipped in seven rebounds and three assists. Shackelford, Alex Reese and John Petty Jr. had 11 points apiece while Jones had 10.

Kansas State was led by Diarra who had 17 points off the bench. Makol Mawien had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Xavier Sneed scored 14 points.

Alabama coach Nate Oats rattled off a list of undesirable adjectives to describe his team’s 25-turnover performance against Vanderbilt earlier this week.

“Sloppy, careless, cool, casual,” the first-year head coach said, “stuff we want to irradicate out of this program.”

Those same clumsy characteristics almost proved costly Saturday night as Alabama committed 16 turnovers, including 10 in the first half as the Crimson Tide headed into the break down 37-36. The 16 giveaways resulted in 18 points for the Wildcats. However, Kansas State was just as careless with the ball, committing 13 turnovers on the other end.

Kansas State dominated Alabama 45-33 on the boards, including a 22-3 advantage on offensive rebounds. However, the Crimson Tide outshot the Wildcats 49 percent to 35 percent.

"We've got to do a better job. I was getting a little frustrated over there," Oats said. "Offensively, we're so much better when we're playing off our stops with the flow and transition... We need to get more in transition. That means our defense has to be better, which we just got to keep working at it. We just got to get better."

Alabama will look to extend its winning streak to five when it travels to take on LSU (15-4, 6-0) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT. The Tigers enter the game riding an eight-game winning streak and are the only undefeated team in SEC play.

LSU won both of its meetings against Alabama last season, beating the Crimson Tide 88-79 in Baton Rouge, La., before completing the sweep with a 74-69 victory in Tuscaloosa. This year’s matchup will feature the SEC’s top two offenses. Alabama entered Saturday leading the conference averaging 83.1 points per game, while LSU entered the day averaging 80.2 points.

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