The Kansas State men’s basketball team hosted the University of Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos tonight at home, where the Wildcats won 72-51.
Before tonight’s matchup, K-State was 1-0, and UMKC was 1-1. Previously, the Wildcats took on American University, where they won 83-45. The Wildcats are now 2-0.
The starting lineup for the first half included sophomore Makol Mawien, sophomore Xavier Sneed, junior Kamau Stokes, junior Barry Brown and junior Dean Wade for the Wildcats.
In the first half, it was clear that Wade was the main focus of UMKC’s aggressive and high-strung offense. In the first half, K-State struggled offensively but was able to pick it up in the last seven minutes of the game. The score was tied twice, and the lead also changed twice within the first half.
Leading scorers at halftime included junior Barry Brown with nine points and graduate Mawdo Sallah and Stokes tied with seven points. They ended the first half 34-20, K-State.
K-State’s shooting percentage from the three-point line was 25 percent, while UMKC’s was 21.4. K-State got two deadball rebounds while UMKC was 1-1. UMKC managed four offensive and 11 defensive rebounds, while K-State has six offensive and 17 defensive.
Starters for the second half included Sallah, Stokes, Brown, Sneed and Wade.
During the second half, it became clear that Sallah was a key in K-State’s defense. The defense grew stronger within the second half. Sallah was one rebound away from a double-double during the game. Last week against American, Sallah was also one rebound shy of a double-double.
A major setback in this game with the amount of fouls for both sides. At the end of the game, there was a total of 46 on both sides, both teams earning 23.
The leading scorer for K-State at the end of the game was Brown with 14 points. Sneed ended with 13, while Wade and Sallah were tied at 11.
K-State ended the game with 13 offensive and 33 defensive rebounds, while UMKC ended with nine offensive and 19 defensive.
Immediately after the game, head coach Bruce Weber talked with the media. Weber talked about what has the ability to change once K-State starts playing conference games in January.
“What’s going to be different when we get into league? I think it’s gonna be defense,” Weber said.
Weber said he thought the defense made it hard for UMKC to score.
“We never let them get easy shots; we made them earn everything,” Weber said.
When it came to how UMKC was guarding Wade, Weber talked about his qualities.
“They doubled him, he lost it twice, he got a little hesitant,” Weber said. “One of the best things about Dean is his unselfishness. … I think the thing he’s made the most stride on is his confidence on the inside.”
The Wildcats will take on UC Irvine on Friday at 8 p.m.
