The K-State men’s basketball finished their non-conference schedule for the regular season Tuesday night as they welcomed the North Carolina Central Eagles into Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcats defeated the Eagles 95-49.
The 46-point margin of victory was the second largest of the season for the Wildcats.
“It was just one of those kind of games to get our confidence back,” said sophomore forward Dominique Sutton. “We knew we were going to win this game, it was just how we were going to go about it.”
K-State (18-8, 6-5 Big 12 Conference) started the game on a 10-3 run and never looked back — dominating the Eagles in almost every aspect of the game.
There was a scary moment for the Wildcats as senior forward Darren Kent went up for a lay-up and was fouled during the first half. Kent stayed down on the floor for a couple minutes until he walked to the locker room on his own.
“Darren’s fine,” head coach Frank Martin said. “He just got whacked in the head.”
K-State didn’t let the stoppage in play slow them down as they took a 46-24 lead into halftime on 62.1 percent shooting from the field, which included hitting 5-8 3-pointers. Tonight’s game marked the seventh straight game in which the Wildcats had a lead at halftime this season.
After halftime, K-State continued to apply defensive pressure to the Eagles, forcing 20 turnovers and converting those turnovers into 32 points.
The Wildcats also dominated the paint, outscoring NCCU 52-18 in the lane. K-State also out-rebounded the Eagles 47-22. Of those 47 rebounds, K-State had 14 offensive rebounds, which they converted into 25 second-half points.
Tonight’s game marked the 20th time this season the Wildcats have out-rebounded their opponent.
“We had trouble with their size,” NCCU head coach Henry Dickerson said. “They are one of the bigger and stronger teams that we played against this year.”
Every Wildcat, except for Denis Clemente, who was serving a one-game suspension for his technical foul during Saturday’s KU game, saw the floor. And every K-State player scored except for freshman guard Justin Warner.
The Cats were led by Sutton’s 16 points, but five other K-State players — Jamar Samuels, Ron Anderson, Luis Colon, Fred Brown and Buchi Awaji — each scored in double-digits.
Freshman guard Jamar Briscoe, who had 18 points and five assists, led the Eagles.
K-State improved to 12-3 in non-conference games and is now 14-3 at home this season.
Next up for the Wildcats are the Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday. The game is in Ames, Iowa with tip-off scheduled for 5 p.m.