12/12 K-State Captures Paradise Jam Championship

ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands – Behind a stellar night behind the 3-point line, No. 12/12 Kansas State captured the 2018 U.S. Virgin Island Paradise Jam Championship with an 82-67 win over former conference foe Missouri on Monday night in front of 2,274 fans at the UVI Sports & Fitness Center.

K-State (5-0) earned the 14^th regular-season tournament championship in school history and the first since winning the 2011 Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, Hawai'i. It was also the sixth career tournament title for head coach Bruce Weber and his first with the Wildcats.

Senior Dean Wade was named the tournament's most valuable player after averaging 17.3 points on 61.8 percent (21-of-34) shooting with 6.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists in three games, while fellow senior Barry Brown, Jr., was one of five players selected as Paradise Jam Tournament All-Stars.

Struggling from the 3-point line through the first four games of the season, the Wildcats broke out of their slump with a barrage of 12 treys from five different players on 24 attempts, including a game-high 4 by Wade. The 3-point performance highlighted an impressive all-around offensive night, as the team connected on 54.5 percent (30-of-55) of their field goals, including 50 percent or better in both halves.

The 237^th meeting between the former conference rivals was tight in the early going before consecutive 3-pointers by Wade with 3:29 remaining in the first half started a 13-0 run that gave K-State a 40-27 advantage at the break. The run continued, as a quick 7-2 spurt extended the lead to 47-29 just 90 seconds into the second half.

Despite several threats, the lead would not dip under 13 points the rest of the way in the Wildcats' fifth straight win over the Tigers, the longest such stretch since an eight-game winning streak from 1965-68.

Wade paced four Wildcats in double figures with a team-high 21 points on 8-of-10 field goals, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, to go with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Brown scored 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting to go with a game-high 6 assists and 6 rebounds, while junior Xavier Sneed and senior Kamau Stokes chipped in 13 and 10 points, respectively.

Missouri was led by senior Jordan Geist, who scored a game-high 24 points on 7-of-15 shooting, while freshman Xavier Pinson and sophomore Mark Smith added 12 and 11 points, respectively.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After both teams went the first two possessions without a bucket, Stokes opened the scoring with a 3-pointer that started a quick 7-0 run by the Wildcats and forced the Tigers to take their first timeout with 16:45 remaining.

A 3-pointer by Sneed extended the lead to 10-2 before the teams went back and forth responding to each other as K-State took a 19-12 into the media timeout with 10:24 to play.

A 7-0 run by Missouri tied the score at 19-all on a dunk by Reed Nikko with 7:37 before halftime.

The teams battled through their fourth tie of the half at 27-all before back-to-back 3-pointers from Wade ignited a 13-0 run to end to the half, which included a pair of free throws by Brown, a 3-pointer by Sneed and backdoor lay-up by Cartier Diarra to give K-State a 40-27 lead at the break.

The Wildcats connected on 53.6 percent (15-of-28) from the field, including 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from 3-point range, while the Tigers shot 41.7 percent (10-of-24), including 42.9 percent (3-of-7) from long range. Wade led the way with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.

K-State picked up where it left off in the first half, as the team scored seven of the first nine points to open the second half, including a 3-pointer from Sneed, to take a 47-29 advantage with 18:29 to play.

A quick 5-0 run by Missouri cut into the lead before Stokes canned his second trey of the night to start a 9-2 run that forced the Tigers to call a timeout down 56-36 after a dunk by Wade at the 13:31 mark.

A Levi Stockard layup gave the Wildcats a 58-36 lead with 12:50 to play before the Tigers charged back with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 58-44 at the media timeout with 10:58 remaining.

The teams went back and forth over the next few minutes before a mini 8-2 run, keyed by consecutive 3-pointers by Diarra, pushed the K-State lead to 70-51 with 7:58 to play.

Another 5-0 run by Missouri cut the deficit to 72-58 with 4:40 to play, however, K-State responded with a 6-0 run to again extend the lead back out to 20 at 78-58 at the 3:34 mark.

A 3-point play by Wade capped the night to push it to 81-60 with 2:21 remaining, as the reserves from both teams played at the last few minutes.

The Wildcats connected on 55.6 percent (15-of-27) of their field goals in the second half, including 40 percent (4-of-10) from 3-point range, while hitting on 8-of-10 free throws. Brown scored 12 of his 19 points after halftime.

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Senior Dean Wade registered his 16^th career 20-point game, including his first of the season, as he connected on 8-of-10 field goals, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, to go with 5 rebounds and 4 assists in 36 minutes.

STAT OF THE GAME
12 – The Wildcats knocked down a season-high 12 3-pointers on 24 attempts after entering the game with just 13 in 64 attempts in the four previous games combined.

IN THEIR WORDS
K-State Head Coach Bruce Weber
On winning the championship…
"I'm really happy for the guys especially the seniors that they could finish off the game and win a championship. The seniors have been close the last few years, we have let a few games go, so I'm happy for them to finally break through. I thought we got off to a great start. Obviously, when you hit shots, that helps. I thought it was a high-level game with guys going after each other and competing. No one wanted to sub out."

On the defense…
"The biggest thing was that we moved the basketball then we used our defense to create offense. We turned them overall and got some easy baskets and kind of broke their spirit. We got into the 20s and just had to play smart the rest of the way. A big team win again. We had five guys in double figures last night and then four tonight. Cartier (Diarra) had 8 and Mak (Mawien) was great on defense."

On Dean Wade…
"I have been on him a little bit. It's really his personality. He just doesn't have that confidence that some guys have. There's not a lot of guys that you beg to shoot the ball, but he's definitely one. He's just such a team guy and he listens to me when I tell the team to be patient. I don't want him to be patient, I want him to shoot the ball. I texted him today to show everyone in the gym you are the best player and he did that today."

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

K-State is now 126-78 all-time in regular-season tournament play, which encompasses 76 tournaments dating back to the school's first tournament in 1905… The tournament championship is the 14^th in school history, including the first since 2011 Diamond Head Classic.
K-State is now 18-8 all-time in tournament play under head coach Bruce Weber… The Wildcats advanced to their fourth regular-season tournament final under Weber, following the 2012 NIT Season Tip-Off, 2015 CBE Hall of Fame Classic and the 2016 Barclays Center Classic… It was the sixth tournament championship in Weber's career and his first at K-State.
K-State is now 4-2 all-time at the Paradise Jam in its first visit to the tournament since 2002.
K-State is off to a 5-0 start for the third time in head coach Bruce Weber's seven seasons, including the first time since the 2016-17 season… The Wildcats also started 5-0 in 2012-13.
K-State now leads the series with Missouri, 121-116, including 17-8 at neutral sites in the first meeting in 2015… The 237 meetings are the second-most against one opponent in school history, trailing just the 289 meeting with Kansas, while the 121 victories are the second-most against one opponent.
K-State scored 82 points on 54.5 percent shooting (30-of-55), including 50 percent (12-of-24) from 3-point range, and connected on 76.9 percent (10-of-13) from the free throw line.
The Wildcats connected on 53.6 percent (15-of-28) of its field goals in the first half and 55.6 percent (15-of-27) in the second half… It marked the first time since the Baylor game on March 3, 2018 that the team hit on 50 percent or better in both halves.
The 12 3-point field goals were the most by the Wildcats since hitting 13 at Iowa State on Dec. 29, 2017.
It marked the third consecutive game connecting on better than 70 percent from the free throw line.
The Wildcats had 17 assists on 30 made field goals and tied a season-low with 9 turnovers.
K-State is now 109-28 under Bruce Weber when holding an opponent to 69 points or less.

WHAT'S NEXT
K-State returns to home on Saturday, as the Wildcats play host to Patriot League member Lehigh (3-1) at 3:30 p.m., CT at Bramlage Coliseum. Tickets starts at just $5 for advanced bench and general admission with $3 tickets available for groups of 12 or more fans. The game will be broadcast on FOX Sports Kansas City (state of Kansas and Kansas City area) as well as on the FOX Sports app and ESPN3.

Next Event

Team Stats

Dean Wade

Barry Brown, Jr.

Xavier Sneed

Kamau Stokes

Players Mentioned

Barry Brown, Jr.

Cartier Diarra

Xavier Sneed

Kamau Stokes

Dean Wade

Players Mentioned

Barry Brown, Jr.

Cartier Diarra

Xavier Sneed

Kamau Stokes

Dean Wade

Kansas State University Athletics