In an unorthodox setting, the men’s basketball team played two unorthodox games in the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Invitational. The outcome, however, was familiar to Cats fans: two victories.

On Friday, the Cats (4-2) faced off with Kansas State. The Cats’ messy ball handling followed them from Rupp Arena to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas — the Cats committed a season-high 31 turnovers in the contest. Junior Jodie Meeks turned the ball over a team-high nine times, but he made up for his mishandles with 37 points and four steals in the Cats’ 74-72 victory. Meeks’ 24 first-half points topped Kansas State’s team halftime total of 23.

The Cats overcame their sloppy handling by shooting 68.8 percent from the field. Before Friday, UK’s last 68-percent performance was Dec. 20, 2000, in an 88-74 victory over Indiana.

The Cats’ victory earned them a berth in the Invitational final against West Virginia on Saturday. Although UK’s hot shooting didn’t carry over — the Cats shot 38.5 percent against the Mountaineers — sophomore big men Patrick Patterson and Josh Harrellson led the Cats’ charge to a 54-43 victory to clinch the Las Vegas Invitational championship.

Patterson and Harrellson each contributed double-doubles, finishing the game with 27 combined points and 20 combined rebounds.

In the first half, the Cats struggled mightily to score, putting up just 16 points before the intermission. UK took control in the second half on a 19-4 run that gave the Cats a 39-36 advantage with 7:41 left to play. The Cats maintained their first lead of the game with a dominant 23-of-25 performance from the free-throw line.

The Cats’ Las Vegas Invitational title is their first regular season tournament championship since claiming the 1996 Great Alaska Shootout.