Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, October 21
Manhattan, Kan.
12 p.m.
Kansas State University
0-0
78
vs
62
Missouri State
0-0
1
2
F
Missouri State
31
31
62
Kansas State
39
39
78
Balance Helps K-State Past Missouri State in Exhibition Opener
Oct 21, 2017 | Men's Basketball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – A balanced scoring effort led by redshirt freshman guard Cartier Diarra's team-high 14 points helped Kansas State post a 78-62 win over Missouri State in a special exhibition game played Saturday afternoon at Bramlage Coliseum. Diarra was one of three Wildcats to register double figures with 12 total players scoring.
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The schools received a special waiver from the NCAA on October 13 to play the exhibition game with all proceeds benefitting the American Red Cross' hurricane relief efforts.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The Wildcats took the opening tip and ran with it, outscoring the Bears 9-0 to open up the exhibition that was capped off by a Barry Brown three-pointer from the corner. The Wildcats would hold a lead for the remaining 38:48, with their largest lead of 16 concluding the game.
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The Wildcat defense had an influence on the game early, holding the Bears offense to three points in first five minutes. The stifling defense held the Bears to 33 percent shooting in the game, and forced 16 turnovers throughout the game. In result of the forceful defense, the Wildcats benefitted from the transition game by outscoring the Bears 12-4 in fast-break points, opening up the Wildcat offense.
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Three-point shooting was another strength for the Wildcats in the first half, as they connected on 44 percent on 4-of-9 shooting from behind the arc, including back-to-back treys early on from Brian Patrick and Diarra. The K-State bench outscored Missouri State's, 39-22, with 12 players scoring in the game.
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K-State closed the game behind the strength of their bench, shooting 27-of-57 in the game, including 7-of-19 from three-point land. The Wildcats shot 17-of-28 from the free-throw line.
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The Wildcats had a trio of scorers reach double-digits, with Diarra leading the squad with 14. Kamau Stokes and Brown added to the scoring, adding 13 and 12, respectively. Dean Wade led the Wildcats on the glass with six rebounds, two of which came offensively. Â Stokes and Brown also led the Wildcats in assists, as both tallying three in the game.
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Jarrid Rhodes led Missouri State with 20 points and five rebounds.
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PLAYERS OF THE GAME
The Wildcats benefitted from great front-court scoring, as three of the top scorers came from guards. Freshman Cartier Diarra shot 4-of-6 from the field, adding five points from the free-throw line. Between Diarra, Stokes and Brown, the front-court contributed 39 of the team's points.
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STAT OF THE GAME
K-State saw scoring from 12 of 15 players that saw the court on Saturday, including 39 points off of the bench. The Wildcat bench outscored the Bears bench 39-22.
IN THEIR WORDS
K-State Head Coach Bruce Weber
Opening statement…
"Obviously Cartier (Diarra) did a nice job, I thought Makol (Mawien) played better here in the game than he does in practice on a daily basis. We have talked to him about that and he actually did in the scrimmage last week too. When we add a little people and the lights go on he picked it up a little bit so that part is good. I had mentioned the other day that we had planned that, I did not tell the players, but that last eight to nine minutes we were going to play everybody so everybody gets a chance to play. They are an older team and one of my concerns all year has been rebounding. I want to play our best players and have them on the court. Sometimes we are small and if they want to play, they are going to have to rebound. We are going to have to have a better mentality on rebounding. One of their (Missouri State) strengths is rebounding so I think it was good. They did not have the kid that averages 10. That part was alright. We have some film to watch but we did some good things. We had a little bit of sticky fingers and did not move the ball like I would want them to. We still have three weeks and two more exhibition games and our whole thing is to get better every day and hopefully they got better today.
On experience for younger players…
"It was great, I think we played great. I think we played ten in the first half, and that is pushing it a lot. Obviously everybody got a chance at the end so that was good for them. When you have a guy like Cartier (Diarra) who did not play for a whole year, this is so valuable. This crowd was not great but he probably did not play in front of this many people in high school ever. Same thing for Makol (Mawien), who sat out a year and redshirted and played last year at the junior college level, it is a whole different thing. Even now for Kamau (Stokes), it is a different level for him. He sometimes over thinks but he did some good things. We just have to keep learning and getting better, that is all we can think about.
Freshman Guard Cartier Diarra
On leading the team in scoring…
"I just took my open reads and was aggressive at times and got to the free throw line and made my free throws."
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On playing for the first time…
"I was pretty anxious. I am generally anxious before games so I just listen to my gospel music and that soothes me and gets me ready to go out and play. I listen to some smooth music and then when it is game time I turn on some Marvin Sapp and listen to that to calm me down."
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On freshmen performance…
"Everybody on our team brings something that we do not have. Of course everybody will not have a good game everyday. One day it will not be Mike's (McGuirl) game and one day it will not be my game but we just work hard and feed off of each other. When we get the chance we have to take advantage of it."
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Junior Guard Kamau Stokes
On first exhibition game…
"I think it went pretty well for our first game. A lot of guys got to get in and get the experience and they are going to need that especially later on in the season. Overall I feel like it went well. Of course there are some things that could have went better and some things we are going to work on."
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On getting off to a fast start…
"It is definitely going to help getting off to a good start early. It always helps no matter what time during the season. We have guys that come off the bench and they give a good spark."
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On Cartier Diarra…
"I felt like Cartier (Diarra) played great. He was aggressive and made the right plays at the right times."
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On relying on the bench play…
"We have faith in our guys that have to come off the bench and play for us. They have been going against us the whole summer and the beginning of school so I felt like they were ready for that. We were not worried at all."
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BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
WHAT'S NEXT
K-State will continue exhibition play on Sunday, October 29, as the Wildcats welcome Division II Fort Hays State to Bramlage Coliseum at 2 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on FOX Sports Kansas City and ESPN3.
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The schools received a special waiver from the NCAA on October 13 to play the exhibition game with all proceeds benefitting the American Red Cross' hurricane relief efforts.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The Wildcats took the opening tip and ran with it, outscoring the Bears 9-0 to open up the exhibition that was capped off by a Barry Brown three-pointer from the corner. The Wildcats would hold a lead for the remaining 38:48, with their largest lead of 16 concluding the game.
Â
The Wildcat defense had an influence on the game early, holding the Bears offense to three points in first five minutes. The stifling defense held the Bears to 33 percent shooting in the game, and forced 16 turnovers throughout the game. In result of the forceful defense, the Wildcats benefitted from the transition game by outscoring the Bears 12-4 in fast-break points, opening up the Wildcat offense.
Â
Three-point shooting was another strength for the Wildcats in the first half, as they connected on 44 percent on 4-of-9 shooting from behind the arc, including back-to-back treys early on from Brian Patrick and Diarra. The K-State bench outscored Missouri State's, 39-22, with 12 players scoring in the game.
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K-State closed the game behind the strength of their bench, shooting 27-of-57 in the game, including 7-of-19 from three-point land. The Wildcats shot 17-of-28 from the free-throw line.
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The Wildcats had a trio of scorers reach double-digits, with Diarra leading the squad with 14. Kamau Stokes and Brown added to the scoring, adding 13 and 12, respectively. Dean Wade led the Wildcats on the glass with six rebounds, two of which came offensively. Â Stokes and Brown also led the Wildcats in assists, as both tallying three in the game.
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Jarrid Rhodes led Missouri State with 20 points and five rebounds.
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PLAYERS OF THE GAME
The Wildcats benefitted from great front-court scoring, as three of the top scorers came from guards. Freshman Cartier Diarra shot 4-of-6 from the field, adding five points from the free-throw line. Between Diarra, Stokes and Brown, the front-court contributed 39 of the team's points.
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STAT OF THE GAME
K-State saw scoring from 12 of 15 players that saw the court on Saturday, including 39 points off of the bench. The Wildcat bench outscored the Bears bench 39-22.
IN THEIR WORDS
K-State Head Coach Bruce Weber
Opening statement…
"Obviously Cartier (Diarra) did a nice job, I thought Makol (Mawien) played better here in the game than he does in practice on a daily basis. We have talked to him about that and he actually did in the scrimmage last week too. When we add a little people and the lights go on he picked it up a little bit so that part is good. I had mentioned the other day that we had planned that, I did not tell the players, but that last eight to nine minutes we were going to play everybody so everybody gets a chance to play. They are an older team and one of my concerns all year has been rebounding. I want to play our best players and have them on the court. Sometimes we are small and if they want to play, they are going to have to rebound. We are going to have to have a better mentality on rebounding. One of their (Missouri State) strengths is rebounding so I think it was good. They did not have the kid that averages 10. That part was alright. We have some film to watch but we did some good things. We had a little bit of sticky fingers and did not move the ball like I would want them to. We still have three weeks and two more exhibition games and our whole thing is to get better every day and hopefully they got better today.
On experience for younger players…
"It was great, I think we played great. I think we played ten in the first half, and that is pushing it a lot. Obviously everybody got a chance at the end so that was good for them. When you have a guy like Cartier (Diarra) who did not play for a whole year, this is so valuable. This crowd was not great but he probably did not play in front of this many people in high school ever. Same thing for Makol (Mawien), who sat out a year and redshirted and played last year at the junior college level, it is a whole different thing. Even now for Kamau (Stokes), it is a different level for him. He sometimes over thinks but he did some good things. We just have to keep learning and getting better, that is all we can think about.
Freshman Guard Cartier Diarra
On leading the team in scoring…
"I just took my open reads and was aggressive at times and got to the free throw line and made my free throws."
Â
On playing for the first time…
"I was pretty anxious. I am generally anxious before games so I just listen to my gospel music and that soothes me and gets me ready to go out and play. I listen to some smooth music and then when it is game time I turn on some Marvin Sapp and listen to that to calm me down."
Â
On freshmen performance…
"Everybody on our team brings something that we do not have. Of course everybody will not have a good game everyday. One day it will not be Mike's (McGuirl) game and one day it will not be my game but we just work hard and feed off of each other. When we get the chance we have to take advantage of it."
Â
Junior Guard Kamau Stokes
On first exhibition game…
"I think it went pretty well for our first game. A lot of guys got to get in and get the experience and they are going to need that especially later on in the season. Overall I feel like it went well. Of course there are some things that could have went better and some things we are going to work on."
Â
On getting off to a fast start…
"It is definitely going to help getting off to a good start early. It always helps no matter what time during the season. We have guys that come off the bench and they give a good spark."
Â
On Cartier Diarra…
"I felt like Cartier (Diarra) played great. He was aggressive and made the right plays at the right times."
Â
On relying on the bench play…
"We have faith in our guys that have to come off the bench and play for us. They have been going against us the whole summer and the beginning of school so I felt like they were ready for that. We were not worried at all."
Â
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- Kansas State is now 64-20 all-time in exhibition play, including 49-9 in home exhibition games… The Wildcats are now 43-9 in exhibition games at Bramlage Coliseum with 21 consecutive wins dating back to 2003… Overall, the team has now won 4 straight in exhibition play since 2016.
- K-State used a starting lineup of graduate transfer Mawdo Sallah, juniors Barry Brown, Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade and sophomore Xavier Sneed.
- The first Wildcats off the bench were redshirt freshman Cartier Diarra, sophomore Brian Patrick and junior Makol Mawien.
- Diarra saw his first extensive experience as a Wildcat after redshirting the 2016-17 season… He led all scorers with 14 points off the bench on 4-of-6 field goals and 5-of-6 free throws in 18 minutes.
- Freshmen Mike McGuirl, Nigel Shadd and Levi Stockard III made appearances in the second half.
WHAT'S NEXT
K-State will continue exhibition play on Sunday, October 29, as the Wildcats welcome Division II Fort Hays State to Bramlage Coliseum at 2 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on FOX Sports Kansas City and ESPN3.
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Team Stats
MSU
KS
FG%
.339
.474
3FG%
.391
.368
FT%
.520
.607
RB
44
37
TO
17
12
STL
6
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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