SE: Weekend Recap — Wildcats Rally Behind Fans in Strong Showings
Dec 12, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Track & Field
Defense kept the K-State men’s basketball team in it early, giving its offense time to return to form. When the Wildcats did, they pulled away for a 70-56 victory against Washington State on Saturday in the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
In front of a mostly purple crowd of 8,807, K-State’s ball movement sparked a 42-point second half. The Wildcats, who hit 2 of 9 from beyond the arc in the first half, knocked down 7 of 13 in the second half. Of K-State’s 16 field goal makes in the second half, 12 came off assists.
“In the second half we just made the right plays. We made some easy passes and we were able to make the shots,” said sophomore guard Barry Brown, who scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half. “Really, it was my teammates passing the ball. I was able to knock down open shots.”
“The second half, we shared the basketball. The first half we probably had too much emotion. It’s great to come to this building. It was a great, energized crowd and we were trying to do stuff all on our own,” K-State head coach Bruce Weber added. “We’ve been so good at moving the ball, making people guard us and being hard to guard. The second half we were much better.”
Specifically, Wesley Iwundu made life difficult for the Washington State defense. The Wildcats’ senior led K-State with 15 points, also recording eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.
K-State’s bench also provided a needed lift, with Xavier Sneed, Carlbe Ervin III and Isaiah Maurice combining for 22 points on a combined 9-of-13 shooting to go with 13 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals.
“It is very good, especially when we are creeping up on this Big 12 play. We are definitely going to need a deep bench,” Brown said of the team’s reserves, led by Sneed’s 10 points. “When some guys aren’t going, we’re going to need that spark off the bench that Xavier, Isaiah and Carlbe bring.”
Washington State jumped to a 9-0 lead and knocked in 8 of its first 12 shot attempts before K-State clamped down defensively. From there, the Cougars converted 12 of 45 (27 percent) from the field that included scoring five points in the final 11:37 of the first half.
“Our defense really helped us because they had a great start with a 9-0 lead. Our defense kept us in the game with all the steals. We are much better than a year ago defensively,” said Weber, whose team collected 10 steals against Washington State. “Barry is much more active. Wes is much more active. We have two athletic defensive stoppers in Barry and Wes. D.J. (Johnson) has been unbelievable by just being active.”
K-State, which also saw Dean Wade finish with 11 points, moved to 9-1 on the year, its best start since the 2011-12 season. The Wildcats return to the court Saturday when they face off with Colorado State at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado.
“The kids have been the key. It is a great locker room. They enjoy each other. They play hard and share the basketball,” Weber said of the team’s start. “They are very coachable and that makes a world of a difference. Now the big thing is to keep wanting more and to not be satisfied. You have to push yourself in practice to get better that is the key.”
K-State Women Hang Tough with No. 1 UConn
The K-State women’s basketball team dropped its first game of the season, 75-58, on Sunday, but they did so to No. 1-ranked Connecticut in front of the Wildcats’ first home sellout since 2012.
It was a loss for the team, but a win for the program and the season moving forward.
“There were a lot of positives out of today,” K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. “There’s not a good loss. I wanted to win this game, I wanted to find a way, I believed we could find a way to pull the upset, I believed in the plan that we put together to do that, but there was also a part of me that said we won a lot of things before the game. Selling this thing out nine days in advance, doing those types of things for our program and women’s college basketball, I think that was pretty good.”
K-State’s Sunday crowd, many of which lined up outside of Bramlage hours before tipoff, ranks ninth all-time for home attendance and is only the program’s third sellout since loge boxes were installed prior to the 2007-08 season.
“I loved it. I appreciate our fans supporting us,” said senior forward Breanna Lewis, who controlled the paint with 18 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and four steals. “It’s exciting. Hopefully we can continue to get that support because it was a great atmosphere to play in.”
“It was a great atmosphere,” agreed junior guard Karyla Middlebrook, who contributed a season-high 11 points. “When they said it was sold out, you just knew that we were going to come into this game and it was going to be that type of atmosphere. We’re thankful for all the support the fans showed us.”
Connecticut, which extended their winning streak to 84 games, rode a 17-0 run in the first quarter to a 25-8 lead. In the final three quarters, K-State played the Huskies even and fed off its crowd en route to cutting its deficit to as close as 11 in the third.
“I felt like they kept us in the game at some points. Even off of our little plays that people don’t really think are big plays, but they are. Little plays are big plays in these games,” senior guard Kindred Wesemann said. “I felt like we fed off of their energy really well and we really appreciated it.”
Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma also complimented the Wildcats’ crowd, the second-largest turnout for a college women’s basketball game this season.
“I could feel the excitement as we came in the building and seeing the line outside as we drove up. It’s really a great place to play basketball,” he said. “When I heard that this game was sold out, I thought, ‘It’s supposed to be.’ They have a really good team, the fans out there love basketball, and we’ve never been out this way before.
“If 500 people, who were at today’s game and had never been to a K-State game, come back to the next game, then that’s a win. If it keeps getting better and better, then that’s one more program that is operating at a level that we all want to be operating at.”
Wildcats Open Indoor Season with Dominant Showings
K-State track and field started its indoor season with nearly 20 first-place finishes in Ahearn Field House during the weekend. The Wildcats swept Friday’s Carol Robinson Winter Pentathlon and claimed 17 top spots during Saturday’s K-State Winter Invitational.
On the women’s side, K-State true freshman Nina Schultz shined in her first collegiate pentathlon. The native of Canada tallied 3,874 points to win by a 210-point margin, beating teammates Ariel Okorie (3,664) and Morgan Coffman (3,580) in second and third. Wildcat junior Max Estill won the men’s pentathlon with a score of 3,405, topping the next-closest competitor by nearly 100 points.
“We accomplished what we hoped to accomplish in this meet and saw some good things,” Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto said about the meet. “There were a lot of things that were not necessarily bad, but we know that they could be a whole lot better. That is a real positive for us.”
The following day, K-State’s men and women claimed team titles that included 12 first-place finishes in the field events. Seniors Brady Grunder (20.72m/67-11.75) and Janee’ Kassanavoid (19.89m/65-03.25) set new personal bests in the weight throw to highlight K-State’s throwers. Brett Neelly also recorded a new career best, winning the shot put with a mark of 18.07m/59-03.50.
“In general, I think the meet was pretty solid,” Rovelto said. “There was not a whole lot that was disappointing. All-in-all, I think we came out of it healthy, so it was a pretty good meet for us.”
For a complete recap of K-State track and field’s weekend, click here.
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