MANHATTAN — Tylor Perry has one wish for Kansas State’s basketball team as the holidays approach.

“Stop playing with fire before we get burned,” Perry said. “Simple as that.”

Call Perry the firefighter.

It was Perry’s 3-pointer with 7.8 seconds left that capped a five-point K-State comeback at the end of regulation, and the Wildcats never trailed in overtime for a 75-74 victory over plucky North Alabama on Saturday afternoon at Bramlage Coliseum.

With the victory, K-State remained undefeated at home and also perfect in overtime while improving to 6-2. The Wildcats are now 3-0 in overtime this year.

“Hats off to (North Alabama coach) Anthony Pujol and his team,” K-State coach Jerome Tang said. “I thought for 39 minutes they were better than we were and played harder. We didn’t deserve to win that game.

Kansas State basketball finishes overtime with a flurry to edge Oral Roberts, 88-78

“But guys figured out a way the last minute in regulation and then in overtime and that’s a credit to our guys’ grit and toughness and togetherness. Just thankful that we figured out a way, and now we can wash it on to the next one.”

The next one, at 6 p.m. Tuesday, is a major challenge against Villanova in the Big 12/Big East Battle series to wrap up a four-game homestand.

Against North Alabama, the Wildcats trailed by eight points in the first half and 13 in the second on a night when offense was hard to come by. Perry, who has been a slow starter all season, scored 12 of his team-high 16 points in the second half and overtime to lead five Wildcats in double figures, and also had six assists.

K-State also got 14 points from Cam Carter, 12 each and a combined 15 rebounds from David N’Guessan and Arthur Kaluma, and career highs of 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench from center Jerrell Colbert.

North Alabama (4-4) got 19 points and 11 assists from Jacari Lane, plus 19 points from Detalian Brown and 15 from Tim Smith.

Here are three takeaways from another narrow Wildcat escape.

Relaed: Why Kansas State basketball and Tylor Perry are built for overtime

Overtime brings out the best in Wildcats

In less than 1 1/2 seasons under Tang, the Wildcats have yet to lose in overtime, going 8-0, after winning five straight last year. This season they have beaten Providence in overtime in the Baha Mar Hoops Championship in the Bahamas, and then pulled away for an 88-78 decision against Oral Roberts last Tuesday.

It’s not ideal, but Tang isn’t complaining, especially early in the season.

“You never want to be in that situation. You think, man, we should be better than this team,” Tang said. “We should play better, but being in these moments allows you to see, under fire how guys perform.

“And then hopefully we can take that and then use it not just under fire, but use it throughout the whole game, and then we’re not in these situations. But this is what I know: if we’re in a close game down the stretch, I’m not going to panic, and I know the guys aren’t because they’ve seen themselves be successful in those situations.”

Transition make or break for K-State

With North Alabama shutting down passing lanes and contesting perimeter shots in the half court, K-State was at its best in transition.

The Wildcats had seven fast break points to none for UNA in the first half, and picked up the pace after intermission to finish with a 19-3 advantage.

Seven of the fast break points came during a 14-1 second-half run to tie the game.

“As a team we felt that (North Alabama’s) game plan was to kind of slow the game down and play into their hands,” Carter said. “But we couldn’t slow down for them. We had to keep our pace going, and the second half I think we did a pretty good job of that.”

By attacking the basket, the Wildcats also got to the free-throw line. Their 34 makes were the most since 2015 and the 48 attempts the most since 2014.

Nothing came easy for the Wildcats

North Alabama, playing an afternoon game on the road two days after a home night game, showed no signs of wear and tear in the first half, playing a suffocating defense that denied K-State any easy half-court looks.

And when the Wildcats did have uncontested shots, they didn’t drop resulting in a 35.2 shooting percentage for the game and a 3-for-18 performance from 3-point range.

While their shooting percentage left much to be desired, the Wildcats did not beat themselves. They only turned the ball over 10 times, matching a season low.

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City’s River Market district is known for its streetcars, people shopping for everything from clothes to produce, and bars and restaurants welcoming a steady stream of patrons.

But one time, the River Market was known as the River Quay and it was ground zero for a war between rival factions of the Kansas City Mafia.

In 1971, Rockhurst University professor and entrepreneur Marion Trozzolo had the idea to develop the quay into a family-friendly district. It was full of restaurants, bars and shops, but no x-rated entertainment. Kansas City’s Civella crime family had different ideas. The mob ran seedy night clubs and strip joints along 12th Street, but it was being sanitized and redeveloped.

Historian and playwright Terence O’Malley explained what happened next.

“They targeted the River Quay to start opening up strip bars and mob hangouts. There was a resistance from the River Quay Businessmen’s Association, that’s kind of what started the conflagration,” O’Malley said.

Part of that push back was from Freddy Bonadonna, owner of the popular River Quay restaurant “Poor Freddies.” But there was a problem; Bonadonna’s father David was a made man in the Civella family. O’Malley says Freddy Bonadonna was encouraged to go along to get along, but he stood his ground. So, the decision was made that if the elder Bondadonna went away, things would change.

“David Bonadonna was found in the trunk of a Mustang he had been shot and apparently tortured a bit before he was killed,” O’Malley shared.

Freddy was grief-stricken by his father’s death, so he enlisted the services of some organized crime associates to provide security for himself and for his business.

The battle lines were drawn. Taking on the Civella family was disastrous. In the summer of 1976, “Uncle Joe’s Tavern,” a bar owned by Joe Cammisano and his brother “Willie the Rat,” was torched. Then in 1977, two popular River Quay establishments, Judge Roy Bean’s and Pat O’Brien’s, were reduced to rubble by bombs. Businesses lost customers.

O’Malley says Freddy Bonadonna’s refusal to cave in to mobsters came at a very high price. He entered the Witness Protection Program. That meant giving up his home in Kansas City, moving to Florida, losing contact with long-term friends.

Fred Bonadonna died in 2002. It took several years for the area now known as the River Market to recover, and it is family friendly. So, the Kansas City mafia’s plan for a long-term money-making operation also failed.

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Uniquely Kansas City is a partnership between KSHB 41 News and retired Kansas City journalist Bill Grady, highlighting the historical stories that make the Kansas City area truly unique through audio and digital storytelling. Is there a piece of Kansas City history you’d like us to share? Send us an email at desk@kshb.com.

GREEN BAY – Our Packers coverage team predicts the outcome of Green Bay’s game Sunday night against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Pete Dougherty

This game will be the toughest test yet for Jordan Love and his green pass-catching corps. Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo blitzes as much as any DC in the league, and he’ll bring guys from any position on the field. We’ll see just how far along the communication and timing between Love and his receiving/tight end corps is at this point. Then there’s the matter of dealing with Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. The Chiefs aren’t quite the devastating offense they’ve been in recent years (they rank No. 11 in points per game), but they’re an elite team, and the guess here is they’ll be a little too much for the Packers. Chiefs 27, Packers 21

Kassidy Hill

What’s crazy about this game is the Packers could lose and still come out the other side feeling good about themselves, if they keep it close. And that’s likely what happens. The Chiefs are not the world-beaters they have been in recent years, but they still have one of the best play-callers in the league in Andy Reid, one of the best pass-catching connections in Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, and a defense spearheaded by Chris Jones. The Chiefs also have the late-season experience that the young Packers just don’t have yet. Expect Jordan Love to handle the blitz Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo will bring better than he did in 2021. But Kansas City will land punches on defense, fluster Love more than he has been all year and pick apart any hint of Joe Barry’s conservative play-calling. Chiefs 28, Packers 20

Tom Silverstein

Who wouldn’t want to see a high-scoring game between these two teams? But it’s likely to be more of a defensive game and the Packers are going to have to play like they did against Detroit to move the ball. When the Packers get ahead, their pass rush really seems to flourish. Kansas City fell behind to Las Vegas last week and has had some bad halves this year. If kick returner Keisean Nixon can flip the field for the Packers, then they have a chance. But expect Andy Reid to figure out how to break apart defensive coordinator Joe Barry’s zone coverages and give quarterback Patrick Mahomes opportunities to spread the ball around. The Packers are coming off a nice performance over Detroit, but they’re not in the class of the defending Super Bowl champions and will learn a lesson about what it takes to be a title contender. Chiefs 26, Packers 21

Keys to the game: Here are 5 things to watch as the Green Bay Packers face the Kansas City Chiefs

Ryan Wood

Just because the Packers had a shocking win against the Detroit Lions doesn’t mean they’re going to play that way every week from here on out. Weird things can happen when divisional opponents play each other. Four days after the Packers won in Detroit on Thanksgiving Day, the Minnesota Vikings lost at home in prime time to the Chicago Bears. The New England Patriots have beaten the Buffalo Bills this season. The Cleveland Browns lost by 25 points to the Baltimore Ravens in Cleveland this season, and six weeks later they overcame a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter to win in Baltimore. It gets less weird when uncommon opponents meet, and the Packers and Chiefs are the definition of uncommon. The Chiefs also have one of the NFL’s best defenses, and though their offense hasn’t consistently hit the otherworldly standards set over the years, they still have Patrick Mahomes. For those reasons, they are the NFL’s gold standard. I expect some regression from the Packers this week, even at home. This is still a young, ascending team, and young teams don’t ascend on a linear trajectory. This won’t be a beatdown, but I don’t expect a game that comes down to the wire either. Chiefs 26, Packers 19