Before Wednesday night’s game, an NBA scout, during a pre-game meal, was lamenting the fact he’d left his glasses at his motel room.

“What kind of a scout are you, anyway?” another scout said, ribbing his colleague.

Who could’ve predicted the forgetful fellow, about to watch a game involving Michael Beasley, would actually need his glasses?

Beasley, the 6-foot-10 freshman sensation, was hard to detect early at the Devaney Sports Center, what with at least two Nebraska basketball players draped on him, while other Huskers sat in a zone.

Doc Sadler’s game plan was working, too. At halftime, Beasley — considered by many the No. 1 pick in this spring’s NBA Draft — had only five points, K-State was 4-of-12 from three-point range, and Nebraska led 34-31.

But as one fan cautioned, “We’ve got a three-point lead, and Beasley’s not even warmed up yet.”

Even when he did warm up, it didn’t matter.

A more determined, more composed Nebraska team upset No. 24 Kansas State 71-64 before 9,725 fans, some of whom stormed the court.

“That’s the biggest win we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Sadler said, “and that’s a credit to our players.”

Nebraska (15-9, 4-7 Big 12 Conference) ended a rough week in which it lost in overtime at home to Missouri and lost at Iowa State after leading 24-11 at halftime.

“Those two games were huge,” Sadler said. “But I think, you know, it showed great character on this basketball team to give the effort they gave tonight, and it took every bit of effort.”

It came from many Huskers — Ade Dagunduro, Sek Henry, Jay-R Strowbridge and Ryan Anderson, to name a few — who helped defend Beasley and hold him to 17 points, nearly nine below his average. He had 10 rebounds.

Beasley, who scored 35 points in K-State’s 74-59 victory against Nebraska two weeks earlier in Manhattan, didn’t even attempt a shot Wednesday until 13:16 remained in the first half.

He didn’t score until the 10:55 mark, and he wasn’t in double figures until seven minutes remained in the game.

“Obviously, he’s a key to their team, and when you take the key of the team out and make him frustrated and uncomfortable,” Aleks Maric said, “it rattles the rest of the team.”

Maric, Nebraska’s lone senior, was also huge. The 6-10 center had his seventh straight double-double, a career best, with 15 points and 17 rebounds, helping the undersized Huskers to a 33-29 rebounding advantage.

“Just attack ’em,” Maric said, explaining the Huskers’ success on the boards.

Junior guard Steve Harley scored a career-high 20 points, consistently beating K-State guards off the dribble and converting easy layup after easy layup, some coming off nifty back-door passes. That helped Nebraska shoot 51.9 percent, its best effort in Big 12 play this season.

“It was the most embarrassing defensive performance of any team I’ve coached in 23 years,” first-year K-State coach Frank Martin said, “and that’s including 13-year-olds.”

Three other Wildcats were in double figures, including Bill Walker, who had 12 points. But Walker didn’t play the final 9:38 after picking up a technical foul, his fourth.

Martin’s reasoning for not playing Walker?

“I just thought we were playing halfway decent with the lineup we had in there,” Martin said.

The loss, K-State’s third straight on the road, knocked the Wildcats (18-7, 8-3) out of a three-way tie for first in the Big 12 Conference.

“They fought us,” Martin said of the Huskers. “They punched us in the mouth, and we ran away.”

K-State cut Nebraska’s lead to 65-64 on a Blake Young three-pointer with 4:52 remaining. The Wildcats had four possessions with a chance to take the lead, but failed each time.

Cookie Miller’s steal of Clent Stewart, which led to a foul on Miller’s missed layup, capped K-State’s empty stretch. Miller made the first free throw for a 66-64 lead with 1:30 left. He missed the second, but Anderson wrestled the rebound away from Beasley.

From there, Nebraska was 5-of-6 from the free-throw line while K-State misfired on five shot attempts, including a trio of three-pointers from Beasley, one an airball.

Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.