It wasn’t pretty, and It probably should’ve been easier for the Wildcats against a Texas team that was not very good. But a win is a win, especially in conference play, and the Wildcats did just that beating the Longhorns 65-62 Friday night in Bramlage Coliseum.
Offense
It was a tale of two halves offensively for K-State. They shot just 33.3 percent in the first half and didn’t make a three-pointer until there was less than two minutes left in the half.
The second half was a different story. They weren’t dominate by any means but they shot the ball much better and were slowly able to pull away. Sophomore forward Dean Wade was the catalyst. He made back-to-back threes early in the half that got the offense going and he led the Wildcats in scoring with 18 points.Related:
K-State, Snyder officially own Texas on Wikipedia
Sophomore guard Kamau Stokes and senior forward Wesley Iwundu were also big. Stokes finished with 15 points and six assists and Iwundu had 16 points and seven rebounds.
Defense
The first four minutes of the game were bad for K-State. They were getting beat with ease in the paint. The Wildcats made some adjustments at the first media timeout and they improved drastically. They held Texas without a score for over seven minutes after that timeout and went on a 15-0 run.
The second half was more of the same as Texas’ youth showed and K-State was able to capitalize on Texas turnovers and errant shots. K-State got shaky toward the end of the game, which allowed Texas to make things a little interesting by scoring easy baskets, but held on for the win.
Player of the Game
Dean Wade
Wade got the offense going and made open shots when he got the ball. Wade missed a sizable chunk of the first half because of foul trouble but from the start of the second half he was ready to go; he scored 11 of his 18 points after halftime.
Quote of the Game
“We’ve been emphasizing that we need to close out games, take care of the ball and execute at the end of the game and we did that today.”
-Kamau Stokes
Up Next
The Wildcats will head to Lawrence, Kansas Tuesday to take on the Kansas Jayhawks in the another edition of the Sunflower Showdown. K-State will be looking to win their first game in Lawrence since 2006. The game will tip off at 8 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN2.
