Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, November 24
Manhattan, Kan.
3:30 p.m.
Kansas State University
6-0
77
vs
58
Lehigh
4-2
1
2
F
Lehigh
35
23
58
Kansas State
37
40
77
12/12 K-State Off to Best Start in 14 Years After 77-58 Win
Nov 24, 2018 | Men's Basketball
12/12 K-State Off to Best Start in 14 Years After 77-58 Win
MANHATTAN, Kan. – A big second-half push, including 14 points from senior Dean Wade, helped No. 12/12 Kansas State knock off Patriot League foe Lehigh, 77-58, on Saturday afternoon at Bramlage Coliseum to give the Wildcats their best start to a season in 14 years.
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K-State (6-0) is now 98-6 in non-conference play at home since the 2006-07 season with wins in 88 of its last 92 non-conference home games. The Wildcats have won 26 straight non-conference games at Bramlage Coliseum.
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After winning the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam on Monday, November 19, K-State have earned its best start to the season since 2004-05 when the Wildcats opened the season 8-0.
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Wade scored 14 of his game-high 18 points in the second half to pace four players in double figures, as he added 8 rebounds, a team-tying 5 assists and 2 steals in 34 minutes of action. Fellow senior Barry Brown, Jr., scored 16 points, while senior Kamau Stokes and junior Makol Mawien chipped in 10 points each.
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With his 16 points, Brown moved into ninth place all-time in scoring, while he added 4 steals, all in the first half, to become the second Wildcat to eclipse 200 career steals and move within 8 of Jacob Pullen's all-time record.
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The hot start to the season comes in part due to K-State's strong defensive play, as the Wildcats have held four of six opponents under 60 points in the game. Entering Saturday's contest, the defense ranked 11th nationally in scoring defense and 19th in turnover margin (+6.0), both categories the team improved upon on Saturday.
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Lehigh was led by sophomore center James Karnik, who scored a team-high 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, as three Mountain Hawks scored in double-digits. The squad was held to 39.3 percent (22-of-56) shooting from the field as a team, including 28.1 percent (9-of-32) in the second half.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
In the opening minutes of action on Saturday, Brown, Jr. eclipsed 200 career steals by forcing three steals just four minutes into the game, including a steal and score in transition to put the Wildcats up 9-7 with 15:42 left in the first half.
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The first half served as a back-and-forth affair, with the lead changing five times, including nine ties. It wasn't until after the midway point of the first half that a team led by five points or more.
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Behind the strength of two straight 3-pointers from Lehigh junior forward Pat Andree, while making 4-of-5 from the field as a team, the Mountain Hawks found their largest lead of five with 5:37 left in the first half.
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The lead did not last long, as K-State drew the score even at 31-all with 3:29 left in the half, before garnering a lead just before the break, as the Wildcats went into the locker room with a 37-35 lead.
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Brown led the Wildcats with 9 points on 4-of-9 from the field, as the team shot 40.6 percent (13-of-32) from the field as a unit. The team benefitted from stifling defense, including 4 steals from Brown, as K-State forced Lehigh into 11 turnovers.
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Despite the tight first half, the Wildcats came out firing in the second half, opening with a 6-0 run in the first three minutes. The run was put together with 4 points from Wade, including a layup on a pass from Stokes to put K-State up 43-35 with 16:50 left in the game.
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With the offense flowing for Wade, he also made an impact defensively, including a block on Lehigh's Kyle Leufroy. Wade's block came at a crucial time, as K-State opened up a 10-point lead (50-40) with 13:47 remaining.
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Leading by 9, the Wildcats opened their lead to 12 with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc from sophomore guard Mike McGuirl, his first basket of the game.
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With Brown, Wade and Stokes all in double-figures in scoring, Mawien joined them on after scoring an and-one, distancing the Wildcats from the Mountain Hawks, 66-52 with 4:02 left in the game.
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The Wildcats went on to find their largest lead of the game at 22 points after a 3-pointer from freshman guard Shaun Neal-Williams en route to a 77-58 victory.
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As a unit, K-State shot 41.5 percent (27-of-65) from the floor and 80.9 percent (17-of-21) from the free throw line, while securing 41 offensive rebounds.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME
With 14 points in the second half, senior Dean Wade was the difference on Saturday, scoring 18 points on 6-of-12 from the field, while adding 8 rebounds, 5 assists and a block. Wade's 18 points mark his 68th career double-digit scoring performance.
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STAT OF THE GAME
2004-05 – With Saturday's victory against Lehigh, K-State earned its best start to the season since the 2004-05 season, when the Wildcats got off to an 8-0 start. This year, K-State has gotten off to a hot start, including a tournament victory in the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam.
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IN THEIR WORDS
K-State Head Coach Bruce Weber
On the second half surge…
"I think our energy and emotion. We didn't have much energy and emotion when we first started. Some of it is how they (Lehigh) play, but it's good for us to go against different styles. Each game has been different. A lot of dribble-drives today, but we did a good job when you think about their two guards, (Kyle Leufroy) and (Lance Tejada). They're averaging 16 points and they got 3 points between them. We did a good job defensively, especially the second half. We allowed their big guy to get going, he's only averaging 2 but he had 7 points in the first few minutes, but we settled down, picked up the energy and emotion, got some stops, got transition, we got the ball inside to Dean (Wade). Really, we only had about a day to practice coming back from the trip, we probably didn't do as good of a job executing, but it's all a part of the learning situation and getting better as a team."
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"It's a good win against a good team who could probably be an NCAA team by winning the Patriot (League)."
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On what worked well in the second half...
"We take advantage at what we have strengths at and their weaknesses and to get the ball inside. It seemed like anytime we tried to run something and got it inside we were able to score. When we moved it, we got it inside and were pretty efficient."
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On Dean Wade being aggressive...
"I thought we started the season trying to shoot it a little too quick, trying to make big plays. Everytime you touch the ball you try to score, sometimes it's better to move the defense and then make the play when they break down, and we weren't patient enough and we talked about that. Being such a good kid, he listens to everything that I say. Coach Lowery has a saying, 'there's no more open than open,' and if you have an open shot, shoot it. Cartier (Diarra) had one in the second-half, he was wide open, shoot the ball, be ready to shoot it. Then you don't shoot it, you end up screwing up the offensive action and end up turning it over. If you're open, shoot the ball. With Dean, no three's today. After going 4-for-6 the other night, some of it was the game and how they played. We need him to be aggressive but at the same time, 5 assists, no turnovers. We did some good things when we could move the ball, including Dean.
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On Kamau Stokes' play…
"Well I think he is very solid. I thought he did a great job defensively. I think he has stepped up his defense. I thought he was very solid today."
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On playing Marquette next Saturday...
"Yea, they're a team that just beat Louisville last night in New York. They led Kansas by 7, the Kansas went on a 22-point run. They're good. They've played Indiana, they've played Kansas, they've played Louisville, so it's a big game for us. We will see what we're about. We'll have to guard and just do what we do. If we do what we do, share the basketball and play great defense, you win if your good players play well. And that's important, they've got to be consistent. To me, the next step is to get better in practice and develop some consistency."
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Dean Wade, Senior Forward
On the Lehigh's defense ...
"They played a match-up/zone so it was a zone with man principles and it's a little confusing how they switch off but we knew we could get it inside and you play inside-out, it's hard for any team to defend that. I think our main goal was just to get it inside and cut. The guards did a great job of moving."
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On the difference between halves …
"The first half we weren't playing with any emotion and energy. Our main focus out of halftime was play hard, come out have emotion, and bring energy. The first half they got it inside and double teamed, I just wanted to be aggressive, smart, and not make too many mistakes and luckily the guards did an amazing job of moving and our post did an awesome job of posting. My mentality was just play hard and bring emotion."
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On the offensive activity...
"Ball screens weren't working how we wanted to so we adapted and just started making cuts and the bigs posted up hard and deep. We spread them all out and made the middle cuts easier to find. Little adjustments like that really helped us in the second half.."
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Barry Brown, Jr., Senior Guard
On the guards ability to drive the ball in the paint...
"We worked on it but I think it's something that just came with the flow, we were driving lanes and able to go in there and finish."
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On forcing turnovers...
"Our defense is something we all take pride in. Even in the first half we had some steals and some easy layups but in the second half I feel like we picked it up, especially in the first five minutes I think we got five stops in a row and were able to get some easy baskets."
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On the comparison of Missouri and Lehigh …
"They both have some inside presence. I feel like we let Lehigh's inside guy get going so he had a good game for them but Missouri also has a good guy inside, but that's probably about it. Lehigh's guards just go the whole game and make you dribble the entire game. Missouri is more structured."
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On 3-point shooting…
"I feel like a couple of them were forced but for the most part I feel like we were just in the flow of the offense. We just got to knock them down and when we're open just stay confident."
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Lehigh Head Coach Dr. Brett Reed
On the difference between first half and second half...
"Well I knew that K-State was a good team and that they would continue to fight. They are a good team. They defended pretty well. We had a little bit of a dry time, were we had a number of open layups and looks and we didn't convert. That affects our defensive energy. We weren't able to keep up our defensive."
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On defending Dean Wade...
"He is an excellent player; he is multidimensional. Just his size being able to go against some of our forwards. I give him and the rest of the team credit. I thought they hurt us in the paint and they capitalized on their size and athleticism. Which is what you would expect from a power 5 team."
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BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
WHAT'S NEXT
K-State plays its first true road game on Saturday, December 1, as the Wildcats travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to take on BIG EAST foe Marquette (4-2) at 1:30 p.m., CT at the brand-new Fiserv Forum in the first game of a home-and-home series between the two schools. The game will air nationally on FS1.
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K-State (6-0) is now 98-6 in non-conference play at home since the 2006-07 season with wins in 88 of its last 92 non-conference home games. The Wildcats have won 26 straight non-conference games at Bramlage Coliseum.
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After winning the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam on Monday, November 19, K-State have earned its best start to the season since 2004-05 when the Wildcats opened the season 8-0.
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Wade scored 14 of his game-high 18 points in the second half to pace four players in double figures, as he added 8 rebounds, a team-tying 5 assists and 2 steals in 34 minutes of action. Fellow senior Barry Brown, Jr., scored 16 points, while senior Kamau Stokes and junior Makol Mawien chipped in 10 points each.
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With his 16 points, Brown moved into ninth place all-time in scoring, while he added 4 steals, all in the first half, to become the second Wildcat to eclipse 200 career steals and move within 8 of Jacob Pullen's all-time record.
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The hot start to the season comes in part due to K-State's strong defensive play, as the Wildcats have held four of six opponents under 60 points in the game. Entering Saturday's contest, the defense ranked 11th nationally in scoring defense and 19th in turnover margin (+6.0), both categories the team improved upon on Saturday.
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Lehigh was led by sophomore center James Karnik, who scored a team-high 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, as three Mountain Hawks scored in double-digits. The squad was held to 39.3 percent (22-of-56) shooting from the field as a team, including 28.1 percent (9-of-32) in the second half.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
In the opening minutes of action on Saturday, Brown, Jr. eclipsed 200 career steals by forcing three steals just four minutes into the game, including a steal and score in transition to put the Wildcats up 9-7 with 15:42 left in the first half.
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The first half served as a back-and-forth affair, with the lead changing five times, including nine ties. It wasn't until after the midway point of the first half that a team led by five points or more.
Â
Behind the strength of two straight 3-pointers from Lehigh junior forward Pat Andree, while making 4-of-5 from the field as a team, the Mountain Hawks found their largest lead of five with 5:37 left in the first half.
Â
The lead did not last long, as K-State drew the score even at 31-all with 3:29 left in the half, before garnering a lead just before the break, as the Wildcats went into the locker room with a 37-35 lead.
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Brown led the Wildcats with 9 points on 4-of-9 from the field, as the team shot 40.6 percent (13-of-32) from the field as a unit. The team benefitted from stifling defense, including 4 steals from Brown, as K-State forced Lehigh into 11 turnovers.
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Despite the tight first half, the Wildcats came out firing in the second half, opening with a 6-0 run in the first three minutes. The run was put together with 4 points from Wade, including a layup on a pass from Stokes to put K-State up 43-35 with 16:50 left in the game.
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With the offense flowing for Wade, he also made an impact defensively, including a block on Lehigh's Kyle Leufroy. Wade's block came at a crucial time, as K-State opened up a 10-point lead (50-40) with 13:47 remaining.
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Leading by 9, the Wildcats opened their lead to 12 with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc from sophomore guard Mike McGuirl, his first basket of the game.
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With Brown, Wade and Stokes all in double-figures in scoring, Mawien joined them on after scoring an and-one, distancing the Wildcats from the Mountain Hawks, 66-52 with 4:02 left in the game.
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The Wildcats went on to find their largest lead of the game at 22 points after a 3-pointer from freshman guard Shaun Neal-Williams en route to a 77-58 victory.
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As a unit, K-State shot 41.5 percent (27-of-65) from the floor and 80.9 percent (17-of-21) from the free throw line, while securing 41 offensive rebounds.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME
With 14 points in the second half, senior Dean Wade was the difference on Saturday, scoring 18 points on 6-of-12 from the field, while adding 8 rebounds, 5 assists and a block. Wade's 18 points mark his 68th career double-digit scoring performance.
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STAT OF THE GAME
2004-05 – With Saturday's victory against Lehigh, K-State earned its best start to the season since the 2004-05 season, when the Wildcats got off to an 8-0 start. This year, K-State has gotten off to a hot start, including a tournament victory in the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam.
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IN THEIR WORDS
K-State Head Coach Bruce Weber
On the second half surge…
"I think our energy and emotion. We didn't have much energy and emotion when we first started. Some of it is how they (Lehigh) play, but it's good for us to go against different styles. Each game has been different. A lot of dribble-drives today, but we did a good job when you think about their two guards, (Kyle Leufroy) and (Lance Tejada). They're averaging 16 points and they got 3 points between them. We did a good job defensively, especially the second half. We allowed their big guy to get going, he's only averaging 2 but he had 7 points in the first few minutes, but we settled down, picked up the energy and emotion, got some stops, got transition, we got the ball inside to Dean (Wade). Really, we only had about a day to practice coming back from the trip, we probably didn't do as good of a job executing, but it's all a part of the learning situation and getting better as a team."
Â
"It's a good win against a good team who could probably be an NCAA team by winning the Patriot (League)."
Â
On what worked well in the second half...
"We take advantage at what we have strengths at and their weaknesses and to get the ball inside. It seemed like anytime we tried to run something and got it inside we were able to score. When we moved it, we got it inside and were pretty efficient."
Â
On Dean Wade being aggressive...
"I thought we started the season trying to shoot it a little too quick, trying to make big plays. Everytime you touch the ball you try to score, sometimes it's better to move the defense and then make the play when they break down, and we weren't patient enough and we talked about that. Being such a good kid, he listens to everything that I say. Coach Lowery has a saying, 'there's no more open than open,' and if you have an open shot, shoot it. Cartier (Diarra) had one in the second-half, he was wide open, shoot the ball, be ready to shoot it. Then you don't shoot it, you end up screwing up the offensive action and end up turning it over. If you're open, shoot the ball. With Dean, no three's today. After going 4-for-6 the other night, some of it was the game and how they played. We need him to be aggressive but at the same time, 5 assists, no turnovers. We did some good things when we could move the ball, including Dean.
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On Kamau Stokes' play…
"Well I think he is very solid. I thought he did a great job defensively. I think he has stepped up his defense. I thought he was very solid today."
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On playing Marquette next Saturday...
"Yea, they're a team that just beat Louisville last night in New York. They led Kansas by 7, the Kansas went on a 22-point run. They're good. They've played Indiana, they've played Kansas, they've played Louisville, so it's a big game for us. We will see what we're about. We'll have to guard and just do what we do. If we do what we do, share the basketball and play great defense, you win if your good players play well. And that's important, they've got to be consistent. To me, the next step is to get better in practice and develop some consistency."
Â
Dean Wade, Senior Forward
On the Lehigh's defense ...
"They played a match-up/zone so it was a zone with man principles and it's a little confusing how they switch off but we knew we could get it inside and you play inside-out, it's hard for any team to defend that. I think our main goal was just to get it inside and cut. The guards did a great job of moving."
Â
On the difference between halves …
"The first half we weren't playing with any emotion and energy. Our main focus out of halftime was play hard, come out have emotion, and bring energy. The first half they got it inside and double teamed, I just wanted to be aggressive, smart, and not make too many mistakes and luckily the guards did an amazing job of moving and our post did an awesome job of posting. My mentality was just play hard and bring emotion."
Â
On the offensive activity...
"Ball screens weren't working how we wanted to so we adapted and just started making cuts and the bigs posted up hard and deep. We spread them all out and made the middle cuts easier to find. Little adjustments like that really helped us in the second half.."
Â
Barry Brown, Jr., Senior Guard
On the guards ability to drive the ball in the paint...
"We worked on it but I think it's something that just came with the flow, we were driving lanes and able to go in there and finish."
Â
On forcing turnovers...
"Our defense is something we all take pride in. Even in the first half we had some steals and some easy layups but in the second half I feel like we picked it up, especially in the first five minutes I think we got five stops in a row and were able to get some easy baskets."
Â
On the comparison of Missouri and Lehigh …
"They both have some inside presence. I feel like we let Lehigh's inside guy get going so he had a good game for them but Missouri also has a good guy inside, but that's probably about it. Lehigh's guards just go the whole game and make you dribble the entire game. Missouri is more structured."
Â
On 3-point shooting…
"I feel like a couple of them were forced but for the most part I feel like we were just in the flow of the offense. We just got to knock them down and when we're open just stay confident."
Â
Lehigh Head Coach Dr. Brett Reed
On the difference between first half and second half...
"Well I knew that K-State was a good team and that they would continue to fight. They are a good team. They defended pretty well. We had a little bit of a dry time, were we had a number of open layups and looks and we didn't convert. That affects our defensive energy. We weren't able to keep up our defensive."
Â
On defending Dean Wade...
"He is an excellent player; he is multidimensional. Just his size being able to go against some of our forwards. I give him and the rest of the team credit. I thought they hurt us in the paint and they capitalized on their size and athleticism. Which is what you would expect from a power 5 team."
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BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- K-State is off to its best start (6-0) since opening the 2004-05 season with 8 consecutive wins…  It is the best start under head coach Bruce Weber after opening 5-0 in 2012-13 and 2016-17.
- K-State is now 98-6 in non-conference play at home dating back to 2006-07 with wins in 88 of its last 92 non-conference home games… The Wildcats have won 26 consecutive non-conference home games.
- K-State is now 101-6 at home venues (includes home games played at Bramlage Coliseum, INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita and the Sprint Center in Kansas City) in non-conference play dating back to the 2006-07 season, including a 93-5 mark at Bramlage Coliseum.
- This was the first meeting between K-State and Lehigh… The Wildcats are now 6-2 vs. the Patriot League.
- K-State has now held 73 opponents to 60 points or less in the Weber era with the Wildcats boasting a 66-7 mark in those contests, including 4 of 6 opponents this year… Lehigh was held to 58 points on 39.3 percent shooting (22-of-56), including 23 points on 28.1 percent shooting (9-of-32).
- K-State is now 109-28 under Bruce Weber when holding an opponent to 69 points or less.
- K-State scored 75 or more points for third time in four games with 77 against Lehigh on 41.5 percent shooting, including 30 percent from 3-point range… The Wildcats connected on better than 70 percent from the free throw line for the fourth straight game with a season-high 81 percent (17-of-21).
- K-State dished out a season-high 19 assists on 27 made field goals.
- K-State scored 18 points off of 16 Lehigh turnovers and have now scored at least 16 points off turnovers in all 6 games this season.
- Four players scored in double figures for the third time this season.
- Senior Dean Wade scored team-high 18 points on 6-of-12 field goals and 6-of-6 free throws to go with 8 rebounds, a team-tying 5 assists and 2 steals in 34 minutes… Wade has now led the team in scoring in 27 career games, including 4 of 6 this season… He has now scored in double figures in 68 career games, including all 6 games this season… He has led in assists in 15 career games, including 3 this season.
- Senior Barry Brown, Jr., scored 16 points on 7-of-18 field goals to go with 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists in 30 minutes… With his 16 points, he moved into ninth place all-time in scoring with 1,377 points… He has now scored in double figures in 68 career games, including 5 of 6 games this season.
- Brown became the second Wildcat to eclipse 200 career steals with 4 steals on the day… With 202 career steals, he moves to within eight of the all-time record held of 210 held by Jacob Pullen (2007-11)… He recorded his 12th career game of at least 4 steals in his career.
- Senior Kamau Stokes scored 10 points on 4-of-10 field goals, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range, to go with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in 35 minutes…He has now scored in double figures in 53 career games, including 4 of 6 games this season.
- Junior Makol Mawien scored 10 points on 3-of-4 field goals and 4-of-4 free throws to go with a game-high 9 rebounds in 24 minutes… He has now scored in double figures in 12 career games, including twice this season… He has now led in rebounding in 6 career games, including back-to-back games.
- Junior Xavier Sneed dished out a season-high 5 assists to go with 7 points and 4 rebounds.
WHAT'S NEXT
K-State plays its first true road game on Saturday, December 1, as the Wildcats travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to take on BIG EAST foe Marquette (4-2) at 1:30 p.m., CT at the brand-new Fiserv Forum in the first game of a home-and-home series between the two schools. The game will air nationally on FS1.
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Team Stats
LEHIGH
KS
FG%
.393
.415
3FG%
.286
.300
FT%
.727
.810
RB
33
41
TO
16
11
STL
9
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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