Kansas State University Athletics
Kansas State University
8-3
UMES
1-7
K-State Off to Vegas with Win
Dec 19, 2006 | Men's Basketball
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) - Cartier Martin scored 23 points and Kansas State slogged its way to a 79-58 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore on Tuesday in the Las Vegas Holiday Classic.
The Hawks committed 32 turnovers in the sloppily played game. Thirteen of them came off Kansas State steals, and at one point Maryland-Eastern Shore had 19 turnovers and only 17 points.
The Wildcats weren't much better offensively. They committed 23 turnovers, and in one instance a red-faced coach Bob Huggins barked out to a deathly silent Bramlage Coliseum for his team to hold onto the ball.
Martin was among the lone bright spots, adding a game-high eight rebounds and four assists and sparking each of Kansas State's scoring spurts.
The Wildcats' leading scorer came off the bench for the second time this season and didn't register his first points until he curled in a 3-pointer with 14:28 to go in the first half. He followed it with a four-point trip down the floor a couple minutes later, then had another four-point trip - this time draining a fall-away 3-pointer as he was fouled - later in the half.
Martin had 17 points before halftime, hit three 3-pointers and finished 8-of-14 from the floor.
David Hoskins added 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting as the Wildcats shot 51 percent from the field (29-of-57) and came within one of breaking the 80-point mark for the fifth straight game.
Bill Walker, the highly touted freshman who made his dazzling debut on Sunday against Kennesaw State, added 11 points for the Wildcats (8-3).
The athletic forward on several occasions brought a sparse crowd to its feet with sharp passes and thunderous dunks. But he also drew a grim-faced stare from Huggins early in the second half when he was called for a technical foul after complaining to a referee over fouls.
Late in the game, Huggins sat next to Walker on a nearly empty bench, giving his prized recruit some one-on-one coaching.
Aleksander Popovic had 15 points to lead Hawks (1-7), whose treacherous trip through the Sunflower State included a 102-46 drubbing by No. 8 Wichita State on Sunday.
Jesse Brooks had 11 points but was only 2-of-11 from the field. Corey Brown finished with 10.
Popovic scored Maryland-Eastern Shore's first seven points as the overmatched Hawks hung tough with the Wildcats early. But Martin, Walker and Hoskins combined for 21 points as the Wildcats closed the half with a 23-8 run to make it 46-23 at the break.
