Kansas State University Athletics
Wednesday, November 27
Fort Myers, Fla.
5 p.m.
Kansas State University
4-2,0-0Big 12
60
vs
73
Bradley
5-2,0-0MVC
1
2
F
Bradley
38
35
73
Kansas St.
37
23
60
3-Point Barrage Carries Bradley Past K-State, 73-60
Nov 27, 2019 | Men's Basketball
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Four Bradley players combined to knock down 13 3-point field goals, including 6 by senior Nate Kennell, as the Braves shot 50 percent from the field en route to a 73-60 win over Kansas State in the third-place game of the Fort Myers Tipoff on Wednesday night at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena.
Kennell led four Bradley players in double figures, as he scored a game-high 22 points on 7-of-11 field goals, including 6-of-8 from 3-point range, as the Braves connected on 56.5 percent (13-of-23) from long range. Fellow senior Darrell Brown, Jr. knocked down four triples and accounted for 16 points, while Kansas City, Mo., native and junior Elijah Childs and sophomore Ja'Shon Henry added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
K-State (4-2), which never led in the second half, closed to within 55-49 with 7:50 to play on a layup by sophomore Shaun Williams, but Bradley (5-2) responded with 3-pointers on its next two possession to push the game into double figures with 5:52 to play. The Wildcats again got to within 63-56 on a layup by junior Cartier Diarra with 4:12 remaining, but the Braves connected on their 13th and final triple of the night to halt any further comeback.
Senior Xavier Sneed was one of three players in double figures, as he led the way with a near double-double with 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting to go with team-high 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in nearly 38 minutes. Junior Mike McGuirl and Williams each registered double-digits for the first time this year with 10 points each. Diarra tied career-highs for assists (8) and steals (5) to go with a season-high 6 rebounds and 6 points.
The shooting display by Bradley was in stark contrast to its 78-51 loss to Northwestern on Monday, in which, the Braves connected on just 33.3 percent (16-of-48) from the field, including 30 percent (3-of-10) from 3-point range.
The two teams combined for 11 lead changes in the first half before Bradley took the lead for good on a Kennell 3-pointer with 1:10 before halftime. K-State had an opportunity right before the half to regain the lead right before the half but fumbled a pass on a steal, as the Braves took a 38-37 lead into halftime.
The Wildcats missed another big opportunity in the opening minutes of the second half, as neither team scored in the first 3 minutes before Kennell connected on consecutive 3-pointers to expand the lead to 44-37 at the 15:04 to play. During this key stretch, the team combined to miss four shots and turn the ball over three times.
For the game, K-State shot 40 percent (24-of-60), including 19 percent (4-of-21) from 3-point range, and made just 8-of-13 free throw attempts. Despite allowing 50 percent shooting from the field, the Wildcats did turn the Braves over 23 times, including 13 steals, scoring 22 points off those miscues.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After senior Makol Mawien scored the game's first points on a turnaround jumper, Bradley took the offensive in the early going, using a 7-0 run to take a 14-6 lead after a 3-pointer by junior Danya Kingsby.
K-State responded with an 11-2 run over the next 90 seconds to take a 17-16 advantage at the 13:29 mark on a 3-point play by senior Xavier Sneed. During the run, junior Mike McGuirl connected on consecutive 3-pointers.
The Braves countered with a 7-3 spurt to take a 23-20 edge on a 3-pointer from senior Nate Kennell then withstood a mini 5-0 run by the Wildcats to take a 26-25 advantage into the third media timeout at the 7:39 mark.
A jumper by Sneed plus baskets by freshmen Antonio Gordon and DaJuan Gordon enabled K-State to regain the lead at 31-29 with 4:18 before halftime. The two teams traded the lead over the next few minutes before another 3-pointer by Kennell with 1:10 to play gave Bradley the lead for good heading into halftime.
The Wildcats connected on 48.3 percent (14-of-29) from the field, including 37.5 percent (3-of-8) from 3-point range, while the Braves hit on 54.2 percent (13-of-24), including 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from long range. Sneed led all scorers with 11 points at halftime on 3-of-5 field goals and a 5-of-5 effort from the free throw line.
Neither team could score in the early moments of the second half before Kennell drained his fourth and fifth 3-pointers that gave Bradley a 44-37 lead and force head coach Bruce Weber to call a timeout at the 14:59 mark.
A 5-0 run all by sophomore Shaun Williams closed the Wildcats to within 44-42 with 13:07 to play, forcing Bradley to call a timeout, but the Braves responded with a 5-0 spurt of their own to take a 49-42 lead into the media timeout with 11:39 remaining.
K-State closed the gap to 51-47 on a Sneed layup with 9:14 remaining but Bradley once again responded to the challenge with consecutive baskets to take a 55-47 advantage less than a minute later. After a jumper by Williams that cut the deficit to 6 points on the next possession, the Braves continued their impressive shooting from 3-point range with back-to-back 3-pointers to increase their lead to 61-51 with 5:52 to play.
Baskets by Mawien and Diarra cut the deficit to 63-56 with 4:12 remaining, but Bradley's 13th 3-pointer and sixth by Kennell put the Braves up 10 with 2:47 to play. It would be no closer the rest of the way, as free throws and frustration technicals on the K-State bench and Diarra accounted for the 73-60 final score.
Bradley connected on 45.8 percent (11-of-24) from the field, including 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from 3-point range, in the second half, while K-State managed to shoot 32.3 percent (10-of-31), including just 1-of-13 from long range.
PLAYER(S) OF THE GAME
Senior Xavier Sneed tallied a near double-double with team-highs in both scoring (15) and rebounds (9) to go with 2 assists and 2 steals in 38 minutes of action. He has now led the team in scoring in 4 of 6 games this season.
Sophomore Shaun Williams posted just his second career double-digit scoring game with 10 points on 4-of-8 field goals, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range, in 17 minutes off the bench.
STAT(S) OF THE GAME
13 – Bradley connected on 13 3-point field goals on 23 attempts (56.5 percent shooting), which were the most allowed by a Wildcat team since Iowa State hit on 14 on Feb. 16, 2019.
IN THEIR WORDS
K-State Head Coach Bruce Weber
On the game…
"Hats off to Bradley. I was in the Missouri Valley. I know how important it was to them. I tried to explain it to our guys, especially after they got embarrassed. I don't know what happened to them against Northwestern. I guess they had to get embarrassed to come out to a high level. They pushed it up on us, they were stronger, quicker, early. Obviously, they made shots. Some of the guys made shots that they've never made. Our defense has been so good, but we didn't have answers tonight. I think at half we had 37 and I told our guys—that has nothing to do with our offense—that's the most points we've scored all year at half, but our defense broke down. And then I thought the start of the second half—they didn't score, we didn't score—and it would've been an opportunity to go on a little bit of a run. But finally, they were the one that took it out. We cut it a couple times, but they kept making big shots. And credit to them, they're a good team—obviously much better than they showed Monday night. And I think they're going to win a lot of games and be competitive in The Valley. We have to go back to the drawing board. Obviously, it's disappointing. You don't want to go home 0-2. We got to get a better flow offensively. We all tried to make plays, but we got to make plays for each other. And that's got to happen. And our defense—I think it's good, but tonight it was not. What did they shoot? 50 percent. And whatever—60 from three, so that's pretty good in anybody's book. And I think anyone that's watched us knows we're pretty good defensively."
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
Player Notes
WHAT'S NEXT
K-State returns home to play Florida A&M (0-5) at 7 p.m., on Monday, Dec. 2 at Bramlage Coliseum. Tickets start at just $5 before gameday ($10 on gameday). The game will air on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
Kennell led four Bradley players in double figures, as he scored a game-high 22 points on 7-of-11 field goals, including 6-of-8 from 3-point range, as the Braves connected on 56.5 percent (13-of-23) from long range. Fellow senior Darrell Brown, Jr. knocked down four triples and accounted for 16 points, while Kansas City, Mo., native and junior Elijah Childs and sophomore Ja'Shon Henry added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
K-State (4-2), which never led in the second half, closed to within 55-49 with 7:50 to play on a layup by sophomore Shaun Williams, but Bradley (5-2) responded with 3-pointers on its next two possession to push the game into double figures with 5:52 to play. The Wildcats again got to within 63-56 on a layup by junior Cartier Diarra with 4:12 remaining, but the Braves connected on their 13th and final triple of the night to halt any further comeback.
Senior Xavier Sneed was one of three players in double figures, as he led the way with a near double-double with 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting to go with team-high 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in nearly 38 minutes. Junior Mike McGuirl and Williams each registered double-digits for the first time this year with 10 points each. Diarra tied career-highs for assists (8) and steals (5) to go with a season-high 6 rebounds and 6 points.
The shooting display by Bradley was in stark contrast to its 78-51 loss to Northwestern on Monday, in which, the Braves connected on just 33.3 percent (16-of-48) from the field, including 30 percent (3-of-10) from 3-point range.
The two teams combined for 11 lead changes in the first half before Bradley took the lead for good on a Kennell 3-pointer with 1:10 before halftime. K-State had an opportunity right before the half to regain the lead right before the half but fumbled a pass on a steal, as the Braves took a 38-37 lead into halftime.
The Wildcats missed another big opportunity in the opening minutes of the second half, as neither team scored in the first 3 minutes before Kennell connected on consecutive 3-pointers to expand the lead to 44-37 at the 15:04 to play. During this key stretch, the team combined to miss four shots and turn the ball over three times.
For the game, K-State shot 40 percent (24-of-60), including 19 percent (4-of-21) from 3-point range, and made just 8-of-13 free throw attempts. Despite allowing 50 percent shooting from the field, the Wildcats did turn the Braves over 23 times, including 13 steals, scoring 22 points off those miscues.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After senior Makol Mawien scored the game's first points on a turnaround jumper, Bradley took the offensive in the early going, using a 7-0 run to take a 14-6 lead after a 3-pointer by junior Danya Kingsby.
K-State responded with an 11-2 run over the next 90 seconds to take a 17-16 advantage at the 13:29 mark on a 3-point play by senior Xavier Sneed. During the run, junior Mike McGuirl connected on consecutive 3-pointers.
The Braves countered with a 7-3 spurt to take a 23-20 edge on a 3-pointer from senior Nate Kennell then withstood a mini 5-0 run by the Wildcats to take a 26-25 advantage into the third media timeout at the 7:39 mark.
A jumper by Sneed plus baskets by freshmen Antonio Gordon and DaJuan Gordon enabled K-State to regain the lead at 31-29 with 4:18 before halftime. The two teams traded the lead over the next few minutes before another 3-pointer by Kennell with 1:10 to play gave Bradley the lead for good heading into halftime.
The Wildcats connected on 48.3 percent (14-of-29) from the field, including 37.5 percent (3-of-8) from 3-point range, while the Braves hit on 54.2 percent (13-of-24), including 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from long range. Sneed led all scorers with 11 points at halftime on 3-of-5 field goals and a 5-of-5 effort from the free throw line.
Neither team could score in the early moments of the second half before Kennell drained his fourth and fifth 3-pointers that gave Bradley a 44-37 lead and force head coach Bruce Weber to call a timeout at the 14:59 mark.
A 5-0 run all by sophomore Shaun Williams closed the Wildcats to within 44-42 with 13:07 to play, forcing Bradley to call a timeout, but the Braves responded with a 5-0 spurt of their own to take a 49-42 lead into the media timeout with 11:39 remaining.
K-State closed the gap to 51-47 on a Sneed layup with 9:14 remaining but Bradley once again responded to the challenge with consecutive baskets to take a 55-47 advantage less than a minute later. After a jumper by Williams that cut the deficit to 6 points on the next possession, the Braves continued their impressive shooting from 3-point range with back-to-back 3-pointers to increase their lead to 61-51 with 5:52 to play.
Baskets by Mawien and Diarra cut the deficit to 63-56 with 4:12 remaining, but Bradley's 13th 3-pointer and sixth by Kennell put the Braves up 10 with 2:47 to play. It would be no closer the rest of the way, as free throws and frustration technicals on the K-State bench and Diarra accounted for the 73-60 final score.
Bradley connected on 45.8 percent (11-of-24) from the field, including 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from 3-point range, in the second half, while K-State managed to shoot 32.3 percent (10-of-31), including just 1-of-13 from long range.
PLAYER(S) OF THE GAME
Senior Xavier Sneed tallied a near double-double with team-highs in both scoring (15) and rebounds (9) to go with 2 assists and 2 steals in 38 minutes of action. He has now led the team in scoring in 4 of 6 games this season.
Sophomore Shaun Williams posted just his second career double-digit scoring game with 10 points on 4-of-8 field goals, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range, in 17 minutes off the bench.
STAT(S) OF THE GAME
13 – Bradley connected on 13 3-point field goals on 23 attempts (56.5 percent shooting), which were the most allowed by a Wildcat team since Iowa State hit on 14 on Feb. 16, 2019.
IN THEIR WORDS
K-State Head Coach Bruce Weber
On the game…
"Hats off to Bradley. I was in the Missouri Valley. I know how important it was to them. I tried to explain it to our guys, especially after they got embarrassed. I don't know what happened to them against Northwestern. I guess they had to get embarrassed to come out to a high level. They pushed it up on us, they were stronger, quicker, early. Obviously, they made shots. Some of the guys made shots that they've never made. Our defense has been so good, but we didn't have answers tonight. I think at half we had 37 and I told our guys—that has nothing to do with our offense—that's the most points we've scored all year at half, but our defense broke down. And then I thought the start of the second half—they didn't score, we didn't score—and it would've been an opportunity to go on a little bit of a run. But finally, they were the one that took it out. We cut it a couple times, but they kept making big shots. And credit to them, they're a good team—obviously much better than they showed Monday night. And I think they're going to win a lot of games and be competitive in The Valley. We have to go back to the drawing board. Obviously, it's disappointing. You don't want to go home 0-2. We got to get a better flow offensively. We all tried to make plays, but we got to make plays for each other. And that's got to happen. And our defense—I think it's good, but tonight it was not. What did they shoot? 50 percent. And whatever—60 from three, so that's pretty good in anybody's book. And I think anyone that's watched us knows we're pretty good defensively."
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- K-State is now 129-80 all-time in 77 in-season tournaments dating to the program's first season in 1905.
- K-State goes winless in a regular-season tournament for the first time since losing back-to-back games to Kentucky and Iowa at the 2008 Las Vegas Invitational.
- K-State now has a 21-10 record in in-season tournaments under head coach Bruce Weber.
- Head coach Bruce Weber is now 154-91 at K-State, 467-246 overall.
- The all-time series with Bradley is now tied 3-all, as the Braves snap a 3-game losing streak in the series and defeat the Wildcats for the first time since March 15, 1974.
- Weber falls to 7-9 all-time against Bradley, which includes stints at Southern Illinois, Illinois and K-State.
- K-State is now 45-18 all-time against teams from the Missouri Valley, including 2-3 at neutral sites.
- The Wildcats' starting lineup consisted of juniors Cartier Diarra and Mike McGuirl, senior Xavier Sneed, freshman Antonio Gordon and senior Makol Mawien… This is the second time using this lineup.
- Sneed has now played in 111 career games, including 78 starts (39 consecutive)… Mawien has played and started in every game in his career, which now stretches to 77… Diarra has now played in 69 games, including 37 starts (8 consecutive)… McGuirl has now played in 52 career games, including 8 starts… This was the second career start for Gordon.
- Freshman DaJuan Gordon and sophomore Shaun Williams were the first players off the bench.
- Freshman Montavious Murphy did not play for the third consecutive game after sustaining an injury against Monmouth on Nov. 13… Junior James Love III and sophomore Nigel Shadd have missed all 6 games this season due to injuries.
- K-State scored 60 points on 40 percent (24-of-60) shooting, including 19 percent (4-of-21) from 3-point range, and connected on 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from the free throw line.
- The Wildcats connected on just 32.3 percent (10-of-31), including 7.7 percent (1-of-13) from 3-point range, in the second half… The 23 points were the fewest in a second half this season
- Bradley connected on 50 percent (24-of-48) from the field, including 56.5 percent (13-of-23) from 3-point range… It marked the first time the Wildcats have allowed an opponent to 50 percent or better from the field since Iowa State shot 52.7 percent on Feb. 16, 2019.
- The 13 made 3-point field goals by Bradley were the most since Iowa State had 14 on Feb. 16, 2019.
- K-State did force Bradley into 23 turnovers with 13 steals, scoring 22 points off those miscues… The Wildcats have now forced 4 of 6 opponents into 20 or more turnovers this season.
- The 13 steals were the second-most this season and third time with double-digit steals.
Player Notes
- Senior Xavier Sneed led the Wildcats in both points (15) and rebounds (9) to go with 2 assists and 2 steals in 38 minutes of action… He has now led the team in scoring in 19 career games, including 4 this season, while he has now led in rebounds in 27 career games, including 2 this season… He has now scored in double figures in 57 career games, including 4 this season.
- Junior Mike McGuirl tallied a season-high 10 points on 3-of-6 field goals, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range… It marked his third career double-digit scoring game, including the first this season.
- Sophomore Shaun Williams tied his career-high with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range, to go with 2 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist in 17 minutes… It was his second double-digit scoring game and the first since scoring 10 vs. Oklahoma State on Feb. 23, 2019.
- Junior Cartier Diarra tied or set career-highs in both assists (8) and steals (5), while he tied a season-high with 6 rebounds to go with 6 points on 3-of-7 shooting.
- Diarra has the most assists (41) by a Wildcat through the first six games of a season, eclipsing the mark of 39 by Tim Jankovich in 1981-82.
WHAT'S NEXT
K-State returns home to play Florida A&M (0-5) at 7 p.m., on Monday, Dec. 2 at Bramlage Coliseum. Tickets start at just $5 before gameday ($10 on gameday). The game will air on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Brad
KState
FG%
.500
.400
3FG%
.565
.190
FT%
.706
.615
RB
37
30
TO
23
15
STL
5
13
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
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