Kansas State University Athletics
Monday, November 12
Manhattan, Kan.
8 p.m.
Kansas State University
2-0
64
vs
56
Denver
1-1
1
2
F
Denver
28
28
56
Kansas State
31
33
64
Brown, Wade Carry 12/11 K-State Past Denver, 64-56
Nov 13, 2018 | Men's Basketball
Brown, Wade Carry 12/11 K-State Past Denver, 64-56
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Senior guard Barry Brown, Jr., scored a game-high 25 points, including 15 in the second half, while fellow senior Dean Wade collected his sixth career double-double with a career-best 16 rebounds, as No. 12/11 Kansas State survived a test from a pesky Denver squad, 64-56, on Monday night in front of 9,412 fans at Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State (2-0) once again had to rely on his defense in the victory, as the Wildcats struggled offensively, connecting on 38.3 percent (23-of-60) of their field goals, including just 22.2 percent (6-of-27) from 3-point range, and hitting on just 12 of 27 free throw attempts (44.4 percent).
The Wildcats held the Pioneers (1-1) to 36.5 percent (19-of-52) shooting, including 24.1 percent (7-of-29) from long range, while scoring 23 points off 17 turnovers. It marked the second consecutive game that the squad has scored 20 or more points off opponent mistakes. The team has now held 71 opponents to 60 points or less under head coach Bruce Weber, including back-to-back games.
The 25-point performance marked the 16th career 20-point game for Brown, who gave K-State the lead for good with a personal 8-0 run midway through the second half. He was joined in double figures by Wade (12) and junior Xavier Sneed, who chipped in 12 points in his debut after missing the opener with an injury.
Wade, who struggled offensively during the game, determined to make his impact by rebounding the basketball. His career-best 16 boards were the most by a Wildcat since Jordan Henriquez grabbed 17 against Syracuse in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
K-State, which has opened the year at 2-0 for the 15th time in the last 16 seasons, extended its non-conference winning streak at Bramlage Coliseum to 25 consecutive games dating back to the start of the 2015-16 season.
Denver was led by the senior trio of Joe Rosga, Ade Murkey and Ronnie Harrell, Jr., as they combined for 46 of the Pioneers' 56 points. Rosga paced the squad with 18 points, while Harrell and Murkey each added 14. Harrell, who played against the Wildcats in the 2018 NCAA Tournament while at Creighton, also had 12 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams went back and forth in the early going before a 7-0 run gave K-State an early 18-12 lead and forced Denver to call its first timeout at the 7:59 mark before halftime. The Wildcats maintained the lead before a 7-4 spurt capped by a 3-pointer by Brown pushed it to 25-16 with 5:28 remaining.
A jumper by Wade and a free throw by junior Austin Trice gave K-State its largest lead at 31-21 with 1:58 remaining. However, the Pioneers used a 7-0 run to end the half, including four from Harrell to make it 31-28 at the break.
Brown paced the Wildcats with 10 points on 3-of-6 field goals at the break, while Sneed added 9 points on 4-of-9 shooting. Wade collected near double-digit rebounds with 9 to go with 4 points. Rosga (12) and Harrell (10) combined for 22 of the Pioneers' 28 first-half points.
K-State connected on just 35.5 percent (11-of-31) in the first half, including 15.4 percent (2-of-13) from 3-point range, while Denver hit on 37.9 percent (11-of-29), including 25 percent (4-of-16) from long range.
The Pioneers opened the second half with an 8-2 spurt to take a 36-33 lead capped by a 3-pointer from senior Ade Murkey at the 17:05 mark. Dating back to the last two minutes of the first half and nearly the first three minutes of the second half, the squad outscored the Wildcats, 15-2.
With the score knotted at 38-all, Brown ignited an 8-0 run all by himself, bookended by 3-pointers, to give K-State a 46-38 lead with just over 10 minutes to play.
The Wildcats held the lead over the next few minutes but could never really pull away, as the Pioneers closed to within 56-53 on a pair of Murkey free throws with 3:32 remaining. However, Brown responded with a jumper with 2:46 to play to increase the lead to 58-53 and Wade tipped in a miss by sophomore Cartier Diarra for a 60-54 edge with just over two minutes to play.
Again, Denver closed to 60-56 on two more free throws by Murkey, but K-State was able to close it out with four straight points to end the game, including a dunk by Sneed with 15 seconds after steal by senior Kamau Stokes.
PLAYER(S) OF THE GAME
Senior Barry Brown, Jr., scored a game-high 25 points on 9-of-17 field goals, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range, in 37 minutes of action. It was his 16th career 20-point game and the 30th career game leading the team in scoring.
Senior Dean Wade collected his sixth career double-double, including his first of season, with 12 points, a career-best 16 rebounds and a game-high 4 assists in 32 minutes.
STAT OF THE GAME
16 – Senior Dean Wade collected a career-high 16 rebounds, including 12 on the defensive end, to go with 12 points and a team-high 4 assists in 32 minutes. It was the most rebounds by a Wildcat since Jordan Henriquez grabbed 17 against Syracuse in the 2012 NCAA Tournament (March 17, 2012).
IN THEIR WORDS
K-State Head Coach Bruce Weber
On 3-point shooting…
"In the second half at least we got some down.I think some of them were a little quick and rushed. We were not as patient. We had some real good open ones. The thing we have to avoid is shooting the quick ones after we miss two or three. We have to get inside. Early in the game we had almost no touches in the paint whether it was dribbling or passing. I have given them a lot of freedom. I have told them we are going to give you more freedom but I do not want to lose and if you can't deal with freedom then we are going to control the tempo and plays to get it where we need to get it. They are going to have to make that decision as we move forward. I want them to play basketball. I think we have good basketball players and they have to be smarter about some things.
On taking a shot or passing up a shot…
"The last stretch is make the right play, the simple play, the easy play. We have good players. The problem is it's contagious if one guy shoots it then the next guy does. If somebody doesn't pass it then they are not going to pass it to you. We can't be that way. We are too good and have too much talent. There is no doubt we shot too quickly, weren't facing up, didn't get paint touches and didn't get where we needed to. We have to get some inside touches. Obviously, Dean didn't play basketball for five months. He is a little bit hesitant and you can see it. The one thing we hounded him about was getting more rebounds and he had 16 today. Cartier (Diarra) struggled but he got 6 rebounds today. We could have folded but we played good defense. Barry obviously stepped up big and ran off 11 straight. Even then I thought there were some possessions we ran off some quick shots. We have to be smarter but we found a way to win and we learned from it. There are a lot of good teams this weekend that went through this stuff. Duke crushed Kentucky then came back and against Army it was a four-point game at halftime. All the different defenses were good for us."
On facing a zone and defense…
"The coaches said, Shane (Southwell) said you have to give them confidence. He said there is a fine line between letting them shoot and when to pass up shots. They have to figure it out. They did two things: they spread us on offense and then started beating us on the dribble. They still only shot 36 percent and we turned them over 17 times. We got a bunch of points off turnovers so we did some good things defensively. Just like Kennesaw (State) if they start running with us then they are going to be in trouble. You have to give them credit they hung with us. They played zone to protect the paint and make us work the perimeter. All we did Saturday was work on zone offense. I figured they would play zone but we went against one-three-one and three-two. We have to be sharper and work on that."
Senior Forward Dean Wade
On the lack of 3-pointers made in the first two games...
"I'm not concerned about it. We got great shooters on the team. They're gonna start falling here. We've gone through a little rough stretch but get back in the gym and get our confidence back up. Everyone misses shots, it'll come back. I'm not worried about it."
On being worried about missing shots…
"If it continues to be like this, it has got to be a little concerning. I have no doubt in my mind that we're going to start hitting shots again. Right now, it's just a matter of time."
On going to the Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam…
"I'm excited to be in 80-degree weather. It's exciting to get out and go into the tournament, different teams play every year and go different places. It's very exciting. All the new guys experience Bramlage and they love it here, but it's nice and refreshing to get out and go different places and play in the tournament. We play three games in four days, so it's a basketball player's dream."
Senior Guard Barry Brown, Jr.
On scoring 25 points against Denver...
"I just wanted to help my teammates out, we kind of had a little slump. I wasn't really feeling the energy. I was wanting to just bring it, so that we could get a spark, play more defense, get rebounds and keep it going."
"I feel like we all played a big part. Dean had 16 rebounds, four assists. Kam (Stokes) had three assists, three steals. X (Sneed) took some big shots and got that dunk at the end. We all played a key role."
On scoring against Denver's zone defense…
"I feel like we moved the ball well. I feel like we got some open shots, I felt like we just didn't execute by making them. I feel like we passed the ball around, got in the zone a little bit, hit the middle guy. He missed a couple shots, the guards missed some shots. I don't think the slump came from the zone. I think we were a little stagnant in the first half against the zone, but in the second half I felt like we moved it and just missed some shots."
Junior Guard/Forward Xavier Sneed
On thoughts about being 2-0 …
"Just getting a win is important here and being able to get better every day. We got to keep doing that process of getting better and I feel like we'll be alright."
Denver Head Coach Rodney Billups
On the game...
"I thought we played well enough to win. The emphasis coming into the game was to keep them off the boards and not turn the ball over, and we gave up 34 points in both. We played well enough to give ourselves a chance, but we have to tighten up a little bit."
On the positives of taking the number 12th team in the country down to the wire ...
"Certainly not a loss. We weren't expected to win in the national news. The only people who believed we could win was our locker room, and I stressed that just a few seconds ago with our team. We just have to be able to fight and to take care of the ball no matter if we see pressure, or in a zone. We have to be able to make free throws and just do what we do. We usually shoot pretty well from three, and we didn't do great. The moral of the story in this whole game is that it doesn't matter if they are 12th in the country or 351st, we just have to play hard and be who we are."
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
K-State will head south for the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, as the Wildcats open the three-game, four-day tournament with a matchup with Ohio Valley Conference member Eastern Kentucky (1-1) on Friday, Nov. 16 at 6:30 p.m., CT. The winner of that game will play either Sunday, Nov. 18 against the winner of the matchup between Northern Iowa (1-1) and Penn (2-0) at 6:30 p.m., CT, while the loser of each of the contests will meet on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 4 p.m., CT. All games of the Paradise Jam will be streamed live and on-demand on FloHoops.com, Apple TV 4 and Roku via the FloSports App. For more information on how to sign up for FloHoops, please visit their website at www.flohoops.com.
K-State (2-0) once again had to rely on his defense in the victory, as the Wildcats struggled offensively, connecting on 38.3 percent (23-of-60) of their field goals, including just 22.2 percent (6-of-27) from 3-point range, and hitting on just 12 of 27 free throw attempts (44.4 percent).
The Wildcats held the Pioneers (1-1) to 36.5 percent (19-of-52) shooting, including 24.1 percent (7-of-29) from long range, while scoring 23 points off 17 turnovers. It marked the second consecutive game that the squad has scored 20 or more points off opponent mistakes. The team has now held 71 opponents to 60 points or less under head coach Bruce Weber, including back-to-back games.
The 25-point performance marked the 16th career 20-point game for Brown, who gave K-State the lead for good with a personal 8-0 run midway through the second half. He was joined in double figures by Wade (12) and junior Xavier Sneed, who chipped in 12 points in his debut after missing the opener with an injury.
Wade, who struggled offensively during the game, determined to make his impact by rebounding the basketball. His career-best 16 boards were the most by a Wildcat since Jordan Henriquez grabbed 17 against Syracuse in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
K-State, which has opened the year at 2-0 for the 15th time in the last 16 seasons, extended its non-conference winning streak at Bramlage Coliseum to 25 consecutive games dating back to the start of the 2015-16 season.
Denver was led by the senior trio of Joe Rosga, Ade Murkey and Ronnie Harrell, Jr., as they combined for 46 of the Pioneers' 56 points. Rosga paced the squad with 18 points, while Harrell and Murkey each added 14. Harrell, who played against the Wildcats in the 2018 NCAA Tournament while at Creighton, also had 12 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams went back and forth in the early going before a 7-0 run gave K-State an early 18-12 lead and forced Denver to call its first timeout at the 7:59 mark before halftime. The Wildcats maintained the lead before a 7-4 spurt capped by a 3-pointer by Brown pushed it to 25-16 with 5:28 remaining.
A jumper by Wade and a free throw by junior Austin Trice gave K-State its largest lead at 31-21 with 1:58 remaining. However, the Pioneers used a 7-0 run to end the half, including four from Harrell to make it 31-28 at the break.
Brown paced the Wildcats with 10 points on 3-of-6 field goals at the break, while Sneed added 9 points on 4-of-9 shooting. Wade collected near double-digit rebounds with 9 to go with 4 points. Rosga (12) and Harrell (10) combined for 22 of the Pioneers' 28 first-half points.
K-State connected on just 35.5 percent (11-of-31) in the first half, including 15.4 percent (2-of-13) from 3-point range, while Denver hit on 37.9 percent (11-of-29), including 25 percent (4-of-16) from long range.
The Pioneers opened the second half with an 8-2 spurt to take a 36-33 lead capped by a 3-pointer from senior Ade Murkey at the 17:05 mark. Dating back to the last two minutes of the first half and nearly the first three minutes of the second half, the squad outscored the Wildcats, 15-2.
With the score knotted at 38-all, Brown ignited an 8-0 run all by himself, bookended by 3-pointers, to give K-State a 46-38 lead with just over 10 minutes to play.
The Wildcats held the lead over the next few minutes but could never really pull away, as the Pioneers closed to within 56-53 on a pair of Murkey free throws with 3:32 remaining. However, Brown responded with a jumper with 2:46 to play to increase the lead to 58-53 and Wade tipped in a miss by sophomore Cartier Diarra for a 60-54 edge with just over two minutes to play.
Again, Denver closed to 60-56 on two more free throws by Murkey, but K-State was able to close it out with four straight points to end the game, including a dunk by Sneed with 15 seconds after steal by senior Kamau Stokes.
PLAYER(S) OF THE GAME
Senior Barry Brown, Jr., scored a game-high 25 points on 9-of-17 field goals, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range, in 37 minutes of action. It was his 16th career 20-point game and the 30th career game leading the team in scoring.
Senior Dean Wade collected his sixth career double-double, including his first of season, with 12 points, a career-best 16 rebounds and a game-high 4 assists in 32 minutes.
STAT OF THE GAME
16 – Senior Dean Wade collected a career-high 16 rebounds, including 12 on the defensive end, to go with 12 points and a team-high 4 assists in 32 minutes. It was the most rebounds by a Wildcat since Jordan Henriquez grabbed 17 against Syracuse in the 2012 NCAA Tournament (March 17, 2012).
IN THEIR WORDS
K-State Head Coach Bruce Weber
On 3-point shooting…
"In the second half at least we got some down.I think some of them were a little quick and rushed. We were not as patient. We had some real good open ones. The thing we have to avoid is shooting the quick ones after we miss two or three. We have to get inside. Early in the game we had almost no touches in the paint whether it was dribbling or passing. I have given them a lot of freedom. I have told them we are going to give you more freedom but I do not want to lose and if you can't deal with freedom then we are going to control the tempo and plays to get it where we need to get it. They are going to have to make that decision as we move forward. I want them to play basketball. I think we have good basketball players and they have to be smarter about some things.
On taking a shot or passing up a shot…
"The last stretch is make the right play, the simple play, the easy play. We have good players. The problem is it's contagious if one guy shoots it then the next guy does. If somebody doesn't pass it then they are not going to pass it to you. We can't be that way. We are too good and have too much talent. There is no doubt we shot too quickly, weren't facing up, didn't get paint touches and didn't get where we needed to. We have to get some inside touches. Obviously, Dean didn't play basketball for five months. He is a little bit hesitant and you can see it. The one thing we hounded him about was getting more rebounds and he had 16 today. Cartier (Diarra) struggled but he got 6 rebounds today. We could have folded but we played good defense. Barry obviously stepped up big and ran off 11 straight. Even then I thought there were some possessions we ran off some quick shots. We have to be smarter but we found a way to win and we learned from it. There are a lot of good teams this weekend that went through this stuff. Duke crushed Kentucky then came back and against Army it was a four-point game at halftime. All the different defenses were good for us."
On facing a zone and defense…
"The coaches said, Shane (Southwell) said you have to give them confidence. He said there is a fine line between letting them shoot and when to pass up shots. They have to figure it out. They did two things: they spread us on offense and then started beating us on the dribble. They still only shot 36 percent and we turned them over 17 times. We got a bunch of points off turnovers so we did some good things defensively. Just like Kennesaw (State) if they start running with us then they are going to be in trouble. You have to give them credit they hung with us. They played zone to protect the paint and make us work the perimeter. All we did Saturday was work on zone offense. I figured they would play zone but we went against one-three-one and three-two. We have to be sharper and work on that."
Senior Forward Dean Wade
On the lack of 3-pointers made in the first two games...
"I'm not concerned about it. We got great shooters on the team. They're gonna start falling here. We've gone through a little rough stretch but get back in the gym and get our confidence back up. Everyone misses shots, it'll come back. I'm not worried about it."
On being worried about missing shots…
"If it continues to be like this, it has got to be a little concerning. I have no doubt in my mind that we're going to start hitting shots again. Right now, it's just a matter of time."
On going to the Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam…
"I'm excited to be in 80-degree weather. It's exciting to get out and go into the tournament, different teams play every year and go different places. It's very exciting. All the new guys experience Bramlage and they love it here, but it's nice and refreshing to get out and go different places and play in the tournament. We play three games in four days, so it's a basketball player's dream."
Senior Guard Barry Brown, Jr.
On scoring 25 points against Denver...
"I just wanted to help my teammates out, we kind of had a little slump. I wasn't really feeling the energy. I was wanting to just bring it, so that we could get a spark, play more defense, get rebounds and keep it going."
"I feel like we all played a big part. Dean had 16 rebounds, four assists. Kam (Stokes) had three assists, three steals. X (Sneed) took some big shots and got that dunk at the end. We all played a key role."
On scoring against Denver's zone defense…
"I feel like we moved the ball well. I feel like we got some open shots, I felt like we just didn't execute by making them. I feel like we passed the ball around, got in the zone a little bit, hit the middle guy. He missed a couple shots, the guards missed some shots. I don't think the slump came from the zone. I think we were a little stagnant in the first half against the zone, but in the second half I felt like we moved it and just missed some shots."
Junior Guard/Forward Xavier Sneed
On thoughts about being 2-0 …
"Just getting a win is important here and being able to get better every day. We got to keep doing that process of getting better and I feel like we'll be alright."
Denver Head Coach Rodney Billups
On the game...
"I thought we played well enough to win. The emphasis coming into the game was to keep them off the boards and not turn the ball over, and we gave up 34 points in both. We played well enough to give ourselves a chance, but we have to tighten up a little bit."
On the positives of taking the number 12th team in the country down to the wire ...
"Certainly not a loss. We weren't expected to win in the national news. The only people who believed we could win was our locker room, and I stressed that just a few seconds ago with our team. We just have to be able to fight and to take care of the ball no matter if we see pressure, or in a zone. We have to be able to make free throws and just do what we do. We usually shoot pretty well from three, and we didn't do great. The moral of the story in this whole game is that it doesn't matter if they are 12th in the country or 351st, we just have to play hard and be who we are."
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- K-State is off to a 2-0 start for the 15th time in the last 16 seasons and has now won its second game of the season 16 consecutive times.
- K-State is now 97-6 in non-conference play at home dating back to 2006-07 with wins in 87 of its last 91 non-conference home games… The Wildcats have won 25 consecutive non-conference home games.
- K-State is now 5-0 all-time against Denver in the first meeting between the schools since 2004… The Wildcats are 32-2 all-time against teams from the Summit League.
- K-State has now held 71 opponents to 60 points or less in the Weber era with the Wildcats boasting a 64-7 mark in those contests… Denver was held to 56 points 36.5 percent shooting (19-of-52).
- K-State is now 106-28 under Bruce Weber when holding an opponent to 69 points or less.
- K-State scored 23 points off of 17 Denver turnovers, posting back-to-back games of 20 or more points off of turnovers to start the season… The team also totaled 10 steals for the second straight game.
- Senior Barry Brown, Jr., scored a game-high 25 points on 9-of-17 field goals, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range, in 37 minutes… He has now scored in double figures in 65 career games, including his 16th career 20-point game… He now led the team in scoring in 30 career games… With his 2 steals, he increased his career total to 195, 15 shy of tying Jacob Pullen's record of 210 steals.
- Senior Dean Wade posted his sixth career double-double with 12 points on 5-of-10 field goals to go with a career-best 16 rebounds in 32 minutes… The 16 rebounds were the most by a Wildcat since Jordan Henriquez grabbed 17 against Syracuse on March 17, 2012 in the NCAA Tournament… Wade also led the team in assists for the 14th career time with 4.
- Junior Xavier Sneed also scored in double figures with 12 points on 5-of-12 field goals in 31 minutes… It marked his 36th career double-digit scoring game.
K-State will head south for the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, as the Wildcats open the three-game, four-day tournament with a matchup with Ohio Valley Conference member Eastern Kentucky (1-1) on Friday, Nov. 16 at 6:30 p.m., CT. The winner of that game will play either Sunday, Nov. 18 against the winner of the matchup between Northern Iowa (1-1) and Penn (2-0) at 6:30 p.m., CT, while the loser of each of the contests will meet on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 4 p.m., CT. All games of the Paradise Jam will be streamed live and on-demand on FloHoops.com, Apple TV 4 and Roku via the FloSports App. For more information on how to sign up for FloHoops, please visit their website at www.flohoops.com.
Team Stats
DEN
KS
FG%
.365
.383
3FG%
.241
.222
FT%
.688
.444
RB
35
40
TO
17
9
STL
4
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
9
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
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