Johnson's Double-Double Helps K-State Past Colorado State, 89-70

GAME RECAP

89

FINAL

70

RV/NR
K-STATE
WILDCATS
10-1 (0-0 Big 12)

NR/NR
COLORADO STATE
RAMS
8-3 (0-0 MWC)

LEADERS:
D. Johnson: 19pts, 10rebs, 3blks
B. Brown: 14pts, 2rebs, 2asts
K. Stokes: 10pts, 8asts, 5rebs

LEADERS:
P. Nixon; 30pts, 3rebs, 2asts
G. Clavell: 16pts, 6rebs, 2asts
E. Omogbo: 13pts, 11rebs, 2blks

TEAM	1ST	2ND	F
K-State	44	45	89
Colorado State	37	33	70

DENVER, Colo. -- Senior forward D.J. Johnson keyed a complete-game effort by leading six players in double figures with his third career double-double, as Kansas State earned an 89-70 win over Colorado State in the Duel in Denver on Saturday afternoon in front of 7,318 fans at the Pepsi Center.

The win extended K-State’s best start under head coach Bruce Weber to 10-1 and gave the team their fifth consecutive victory, including the second straight on the road. The 10-1 start is the best since the Wildcats opened the 2011-12 season with wins in 11 of their first 12 contests.

Johnson finished the day with team highs in both points (19) and rebounds (10), while knocking down 8-of-11 field goals and 3-of-4 free throws to go with 3 blocks and a steal in just 23 minutes before fouling out with 1:58 remaining. It marked his third career double-double, including his second this season.

Johnson was joined in double figures by fellow starters, sophomore Barry Brown (14), senior Wesley Iwundu (11) and sophomore Kamau Stokes (10) and Dean Wade (10), as well as freshman reserve Xavier Sneed (12). Stokes, who played a game-high 35 minutes, dished out a career-best 8 assists to go with 5 rebounds.

K-State registered its sixth 80-point game of the season on 49.2 percent shooting (31-of-63) while connecting on a season-best 90 percent (18-of-20) from the free throw line and managing a season-low 9 turnovers. The Wildcats also tied a season-high with 14 offensive rebounds, converting those into a season-best 19 second-chance points, while scoring 21 points off of 14 Ram turnovers and posting 36 points in the paint.

Colorado State (8-3), which won at Pac-12 foe Colorado, 72-58, on November 30, was led by sophomore guard Prentiss Nixon’s game-high 30 points, which came on 9-of-16 field goals and 4-of-8 from 3-point range. Senior guard Gian Clavell, who was making his first start of the season, scored 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while senior forward Emmanuel Omogbo had a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

The Basics
• Final Score: Kansas State 89, Colorado State 70
• Records: Kansas State 10-1, 0-0 Big 12 // Colorado State 8-3, 0-0 MWC
• Attendance: 7,318
• Next Game: Wednesday, Dec. 21 // vs. Gardner-Webb // 7 p.m. CT // FOX Sports Kansas City

The Short Story
• Senior D.J. Johnson collected his third career double-double, including his second this season, with team-highs in both scoring (19) and rebounding (10) to help K-State defeat Colorado State, 89-70, on Saturday.
• With the win, the Wildcats swept the home-and-home series with the Rams, which started last season in a 61-56 victory at Wichita’s INTRUST Bank Arena on December 19, 2015.
• Johnson was one of a season-high six Wildcats in double figures, as sophomore Barry Brown (14), freshman Xavier Sneed (12), senior Wesley Iwundu (11) and sophomores Kamau Stokes (10) and Dean Wade (10) each registered double digits.
• Stokes, who played a game-high 35 minutes, dished out a career-high 8 assists to go with 5 rebounds.
• K-State tallied 80 or more points for the sixth time this season, while connecting on 49.2 percent (31-of-63) from the field and shooting a season-best 90 percent (18-of-20) from the free throw line.
• In all, nine different players had at least one made field goal and seven had at least one assist.
• The Wildcats scored 36 of their 89 points in the paint, while they had 21 points off of 14 Ram turnovers.
• K-State played without redshirt freshmen Isaiah Maurice and Dante Williams. Maurice has been suspended indefinitely, while Williams has opted to transfer.

How It Happened | First Half
• K-State opened the game with back-to-back lay-ups from Johnson, both on assists from Stokes, to force Colorado State to take its first timeout at the 18:20 mark.
• The Rams battled back to take their first lead with a quick 5-0 run keyed by a 3-pointer by Omogbo at 15:07 before halftime for a 10-9 lead.
• The Wildcats were forced to call their first timeout after a Kimani Jackson dunk pushed the Ram lead to 19-14 at the 12:43 mark.
• CSU lead grew to 29-21 after a jumper by Nixon with 7:29 remaining in the half.
• K-State staged a comeback to retake the lead at 32-31 on a 3-pointer by Austin Budke at the 4:57 mark. During the stretch, the Wildcats scored 11 of the game’s 13 points.
• K-State extended their lead to 41-34 on a Sneed steal and lay-up with 2:12 to play.
• A Brown 3-point play gave the Wildcats a 44-34 advantage with 44 seconds before halftime.
• The Rams were able to close the gap to 44-37 at halftime by knocking down 3 of 4 from the line despite going 3:53 without a field goal and missed their last 7 attempts.
• K-State connected on 51.6 percent (16-of-31) from the field with 20 of its 44 points coming in the paint. The Wildcats shot 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from long range and went 7-of-7 from the free throw line. CSU was held to 41.2 percent (14-of-34), including 40 percent (4-of-10) from 3-point range.
• Brown and Sneed each had 10 points to lead the way for K-State, while Johnson added 8 points on 4-of-5 field goals to go with 5 rebounds and 3 blocks. Stokes dished out 6 assists.

How It Happened | Second Half
• K-State started the second half with consecutive 3-point field goals from Stokes and Wade to push the lead to 50-39 with 18:42 to play.
• A Johnson dunk off a Stokes miss gave the Wildcats a 55-41 lead at the 15:55 mark and just 50 seconds later Stokes’ second 3-pointer of the half with an assist from Wade made it 58-41.
• Six straight points over a 50-second stretch capped by a Sneed steal and a Stokes’ lay-up extended the lead to 66-47 at the media timeout with 12:03 remaining.
• The lead hit 20 with 9:29 to play after a 3-point play by Johnson made it 71-51.
• Two more free throws by Iwundu pushed the advantage to a game-high 23 points at the 5:52 mark at 78-55 then again after a Brown jumper with 5:17 remaining at 80-57.
• A 10-2 run by CSU tightened the gap to 82-67 with 2:53 to play, but the Rams could get no closer.
• K-State scored 7 of the final 10 points, including the first career 3-pointer from redshirt freshman walk-on Pierson McAtee, for the final 89-70 margin.
• The Wildcats connected on 46.9 percent (15-of-32) from the field, including 33.3 percent (4-of-12) from 3-point range, and knocked down 11 of their 13 free throw attempts. The Rams were held to just 37.5 percent shooting, including 33.3 percent (3-of-9) from long range.
• Johnson scored 11 of his team-high 19 points in the second half on 4-of-6 field goals to go with 5 rebounds, while Stokes tallied all 10 his points after halftime.

Beyond the Boxscore
• K-State is now 6-0 this season when scoring 80 or more points and moved to 25-2 under head coach Bruce Weber when eclipsing the 80-point barrier.
• The 89 points tied for the most this season, along with the 89 scored vs. Hampton (11/20/16).
• The Wildcats connected on 51.6 percent (16-of-31) of their field goals in the first half and now has connected on 50 percent or better in at least one half in all 11 games this season.
• With 9 triples today, K-State has at least 7 3-pointers in 9 games… The Wildcats are now 55-17 under Bruce Weber when connecting on at least 6 3-pointers, including 9-0 this season.
• Seven Wildcats connected on at least one 3-pointer for the second time this season… Before doing it against in a win over Green Bay, the team had not done it in a game since 2011.
• K-State is now made at least one 3-pointer in 283 consecutive games dating back to the 2008-09 season.
• The 90 percent (18-of-20) shooting from the free throw line was the highest with a minimum of 20 attempts under Bruce Weber and tied for the seventh-highest in school history, along with 90-percent (27-of-30) against BYU in the NCAA Tournament on March 20, 2010.
• All 3 of Johnson’ career double-doubles have come on the road, including both this season.
• Brown has now scored in double figures in a team-best 10 of 11 games this season.
• Stokes now has at least 5 assists in 6 games this season, including 4 in a row… He has 25 assists to 8 turnovers in the last 4 games.
• Iwundu made his 100th career start today against Colorado State, becoming the seventh Wildcat to tally at least 100 starts and the first since Will Spradling in 2014.

Quotable
• “I was really proud of our guys today,” said head coach Bruce Weber. “We have had a lot of distractions this week with the end of the semester and final exams and not a lot of practice time, so to come with that kind of effort against a good Colorado State was another positive sign in our development. We had the kind of balance I thought we could have all along with six guys in double figures. Kam (Stokes) played one of his best games in his time here with a career-high eight assists. D.J. (Johnson) was once again big time today especially going against (Emmanuel) Omogbo. We just need to stay focused and finish off non-conference play on Wednesday to keep our momentum building for the start of Big 12 play.”

Up Next
• K-State returns home on Wednesday, December 21 at 7 p.m., as the Wildcats host Gardner-Webb (5-5) in the final non-conference game of the season. Tickets start at $10, while fans can take advantage of the Bramlage Bundle for just $20, which includes a general admission/bench ticket, $10 concessions voucher and a souvenir from the K-State Super Store. The contest will be televised on FOX Sports Kansas City (state of Kansas, Kansas City area), K-StateHD.TV and ESPN3 (outside of state of Kansas).

Kansas State University Athletics