Kansas State University Athletics
Tuesday, November 5
Manhattan, Kan.
7 p.m.
Kansas State University
1-0,0-0Big 12
67
vs
54
North Dakota State
0-1,0-0Summit League
1
2
F
North Dakota St.
22
32
54
Kansas St.
21
46
67
Big Second Half Propels K-State to Season-Opening Win over NDSU
Nov 05, 2019 | Men's Basketball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Junior Cartier Diarra scored a career-high 23 points, including 15 in the second half, as the Wildcats used a second-half resurgence to defeat Summit League favorite North Dakota State, 67-54, in the season opener for both squads on Tuesday night before 8,145 fans at Bramlage Coliseum.
Down by as many as five points in the first half, including by one at the half, the Wildcats (1-0) looked like a completely different team in the second half, more than doubling their first-half production (21) with a 46-point second half that came on 51.6 percent (16-of-31) shooting, including 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from 3-point range.
Diarra, who posted his first career 20-point game, also tied a career-high with 6 assists (to just 1 turnover) to go with 6 rebounds in 31 minutes. Senior Makol Mawien collected his third career double-double (including in back-to-back games) with 15 points on 6-of-12 field goals and a game-high 10 rebounds, while fellow senior Xavier Sneed and junior Levi Stockard III scored 9 and 8 points, respectively.
North Dakota State, which returned 10 lettermen and 5 starters from a team that won the Summit League Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament a season ago, was held to just 54 points on 28.8 percent (15-of-52) shooting, including 26.7 percent (8-of-30) from 3-point range. K-State has now held 88 opponents to 60 points or less in the Bruce Weber era, including 19 of their last 32 opponents dating back to last season.
Senior Rocky Kreuser led the Bison (0-1) with 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
With the win, K-State moves to 26-2 (.929) all-time in season openers at Bramlage Coliseum, including to 7-1 (.875) record under head coach Bruce Weber. The Wildcats have now won 30 consecutive non-conference home games.
K-State stood a challenge from the veteran Bison early, trailing for nearly 11 minutes in the first half while shooting just 33.3 percent (10-of-30), including 8.3 percent (1-of-12) from 3-point range. Diarra, who scored the last two field goals of the first half, picked up right from there to start the second half, scoring 7 of the team's first 9 points that gave the Wildcats the lead for good.
NDSU closed to within striking distance on several occasions, including 54-48 with 7:06 remaining, before Mawien ignited a 10-2 run with a traditional 3-point play that gave K-State a 64-50 lead with 3:47 to go.
For the game, the Wildcats connected on 42.6 percent (26-of-61), including 28.6 percent (6-of-21) from 3-point range, and hit on 64.3 percent (9-of-14) from the free throw line.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams were locked in defensively to start the game, as it took more than 2 minutes for the game's first bucket, as senior Makol Mawien opened the scoring with a layup off an assist by junior Cartier Diarra at the 17:39 mark. Mawien would score the Wildcats' first 3 field goals, including a 3-pointer on the team's next possession.
K-State would hold an 11-6 lead after a jumper by junior David Sloan at the 13:53 mark and take a 13-9 edge into the game's second media timeout after a basket by junior Levi Stockard III with 11:44 before halftime.
It was out of the timeout that North Dakota State found its outside shooting, as the Bison knocked down three 3-pointers, including a pair by junior Rocky Kreuser, in an 11-2 run to take a 20-15 lead with 8:30 remaining in the first half. After a scoring drought, which saw both teams make just one field goal in a long stretch, the Wildcats ended the half with back-to-back floaters from Diarra to close to within 22-21 at the half.
K-State (10) actually made more field goals than NDSU (7) in the first half, but the difference came from the 3-point line where the Bison were 5-of-17 compared to just 1-of-12 for the Wildcats. K-State shot 33.3 percent (10-of-30) from the field in the first half compared to NDSU's 28 percent (7-of-25). Diarra led the way with 8 points on 4-of-9 shooting, while Mawien added 7 points on 3-of-7 field goals.
Diarra picked up where he left off in the first half, scoring 5 of K-State's first 7 points to give the team a 28-25 lead. After a trey by the Bison knotted it at 28-all on the next possession, the Wildcats rattled off three straight baskets to extend their lead to 34-28 at the 15:53 mark.
Five of six free throws by NDSU cut the gap to 34-33 with 14:42 remaining before a 10-3 spurt by K-State, which included back-to-back 3-pointers from freshman DaJuan Gordon and junior Mike McGuirl, pushed the lead to 44-36 at the 11:04 mark. The lead stood at double digits after consecutive treys from Diarra and senior Xavier Sneed made at 52-41 just 3 minutes later.
The Bison closed to within 54-48 on two free throws and a jumper by senior Tyson Ward with 7:06 remaining, but the Wildcats responded with a 10-2 run capped by a pair of free throws from Stockard with 3:47 to play. The lead would remain in double figures the rest of the way, as K-State earned its 16th win in its last 17 home openers.
The Wildcats connected on 51.6 percent (16-of-31) in the second half, including 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from 3-point range, and shot 75 percent (9-of-12) from the free throw line. The Bison hit on just 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from the field after halftime, including 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from beyond the arc.
Diarra led all scorers in the second half with 15 points on 4-of-12 shooting to go with 4 assists and 4 rebounds, while Mawien added 8 points on 3-of-5 shooting and a team-high 8 rebounds.
PLAYER(S) OF THE GAME
Junior Cartier Diarra enjoyed a career night, as he paced the Wildcats with a career-best 23 points on 8-of-21 field goals, including 2-of-8 from 3-point range, to go with a career-tying 6 assists and 6 rebounds in 31 minutes. It marked his first career 20-point game.
Senior Makol Mawien collected his third career double-double (including in back-to-back games) with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and a game-high 10 rebounds in 28 minutes.
STAT OF THE GAME
46 – K-State scored 46 points in the second half on 51.6 percent (16-of-31) shooting, including 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from 3-point range, and shot 75 percent (9-of-12) from the free throw line after posting just 21 points in the first half on 33.3 percent (10-of-30), including 8.3 percent (1-of-12) from 3-point range.
IN THEIR WORDS
K-State Head Coach Bruce Weber
On the game…
"In the first half, we didn't pass the basketball and we didn't move it. In the second half, we have 10 assists and we end up with 14 (assists) and 6 (turnovers) and made a lot of good plays. And then we finally stepped up and when we moved the ball, we shot the ball, we shot good shots. I still want Carti (Diarra) to get to the basket and get to the free throw line. I know he's worked on his step-back and it looks good on TV, but you've got to get to the basket. They're a good team. They've done a nice job. I would anticipate they're an NCAA team. They're tough for us. As a new team, it was not great scheduling. You don't want to play old and you don't want to play experienced. But our guys stuck together, we made some plays. I thought Mike's three, DaJuan's three, Levi (Stockard) with a jumper, a layup, two free throws; all those were really big plays. Even David Sloan just running the show, getting it where it needs to go. We had a lot of people give us good minutes. And Monta (Montavious Murphy) didn't have a lot of numbers, but he did a great job defensively."
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
Player Notes
WHAT'S NEXT
K-State will hit the road this weekend to take on UNLV (1-0) on Saturday at 3 p.m., CT at the Thomas & Mack Center. It will be the earliest road game in school history and the first at UNLV?since 2009. The game will air on ESPN+.
Down by as many as five points in the first half, including by one at the half, the Wildcats (1-0) looked like a completely different team in the second half, more than doubling their first-half production (21) with a 46-point second half that came on 51.6 percent (16-of-31) shooting, including 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from 3-point range.
Diarra, who posted his first career 20-point game, also tied a career-high with 6 assists (to just 1 turnover) to go with 6 rebounds in 31 minutes. Senior Makol Mawien collected his third career double-double (including in back-to-back games) with 15 points on 6-of-12 field goals and a game-high 10 rebounds, while fellow senior Xavier Sneed and junior Levi Stockard III scored 9 and 8 points, respectively.
North Dakota State, which returned 10 lettermen and 5 starters from a team that won the Summit League Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament a season ago, was held to just 54 points on 28.8 percent (15-of-52) shooting, including 26.7 percent (8-of-30) from 3-point range. K-State has now held 88 opponents to 60 points or less in the Bruce Weber era, including 19 of their last 32 opponents dating back to last season.
Senior Rocky Kreuser led the Bison (0-1) with 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
With the win, K-State moves to 26-2 (.929) all-time in season openers at Bramlage Coliseum, including to 7-1 (.875) record under head coach Bruce Weber. The Wildcats have now won 30 consecutive non-conference home games.
K-State stood a challenge from the veteran Bison early, trailing for nearly 11 minutes in the first half while shooting just 33.3 percent (10-of-30), including 8.3 percent (1-of-12) from 3-point range. Diarra, who scored the last two field goals of the first half, picked up right from there to start the second half, scoring 7 of the team's first 9 points that gave the Wildcats the lead for good.
NDSU closed to within striking distance on several occasions, including 54-48 with 7:06 remaining, before Mawien ignited a 10-2 run with a traditional 3-point play that gave K-State a 64-50 lead with 3:47 to go.
For the game, the Wildcats connected on 42.6 percent (26-of-61), including 28.6 percent (6-of-21) from 3-point range, and hit on 64.3 percent (9-of-14) from the free throw line.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams were locked in defensively to start the game, as it took more than 2 minutes for the game's first bucket, as senior Makol Mawien opened the scoring with a layup off an assist by junior Cartier Diarra at the 17:39 mark. Mawien would score the Wildcats' first 3 field goals, including a 3-pointer on the team's next possession.
K-State would hold an 11-6 lead after a jumper by junior David Sloan at the 13:53 mark and take a 13-9 edge into the game's second media timeout after a basket by junior Levi Stockard III with 11:44 before halftime.
It was out of the timeout that North Dakota State found its outside shooting, as the Bison knocked down three 3-pointers, including a pair by junior Rocky Kreuser, in an 11-2 run to take a 20-15 lead with 8:30 remaining in the first half. After a scoring drought, which saw both teams make just one field goal in a long stretch, the Wildcats ended the half with back-to-back floaters from Diarra to close to within 22-21 at the half.
K-State (10) actually made more field goals than NDSU (7) in the first half, but the difference came from the 3-point line where the Bison were 5-of-17 compared to just 1-of-12 for the Wildcats. K-State shot 33.3 percent (10-of-30) from the field in the first half compared to NDSU's 28 percent (7-of-25). Diarra led the way with 8 points on 4-of-9 shooting, while Mawien added 7 points on 3-of-7 field goals.
Diarra picked up where he left off in the first half, scoring 5 of K-State's first 7 points to give the team a 28-25 lead. After a trey by the Bison knotted it at 28-all on the next possession, the Wildcats rattled off three straight baskets to extend their lead to 34-28 at the 15:53 mark.
Five of six free throws by NDSU cut the gap to 34-33 with 14:42 remaining before a 10-3 spurt by K-State, which included back-to-back 3-pointers from freshman DaJuan Gordon and junior Mike McGuirl, pushed the lead to 44-36 at the 11:04 mark. The lead stood at double digits after consecutive treys from Diarra and senior Xavier Sneed made at 52-41 just 3 minutes later.
The Bison closed to within 54-48 on two free throws and a jumper by senior Tyson Ward with 7:06 remaining, but the Wildcats responded with a 10-2 run capped by a pair of free throws from Stockard with 3:47 to play. The lead would remain in double figures the rest of the way, as K-State earned its 16th win in its last 17 home openers.
The Wildcats connected on 51.6 percent (16-of-31) in the second half, including 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from 3-point range, and shot 75 percent (9-of-12) from the free throw line. The Bison hit on just 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from the field after halftime, including 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from beyond the arc.
Diarra led all scorers in the second half with 15 points on 4-of-12 shooting to go with 4 assists and 4 rebounds, while Mawien added 8 points on 3-of-5 shooting and a team-high 8 rebounds.
PLAYER(S) OF THE GAME
Junior Cartier Diarra enjoyed a career night, as he paced the Wildcats with a career-best 23 points on 8-of-21 field goals, including 2-of-8 from 3-point range, to go with a career-tying 6 assists and 6 rebounds in 31 minutes. It marked his first career 20-point game.
Senior Makol Mawien collected his third career double-double (including in back-to-back games) with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and a game-high 10 rebounds in 28 minutes.
STAT OF THE GAME
46 – K-State scored 46 points in the second half on 51.6 percent (16-of-31) shooting, including 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from 3-point range, and shot 75 percent (9-of-12) from the free throw line after posting just 21 points in the first half on 33.3 percent (10-of-30), including 8.3 percent (1-of-12) from 3-point range.
IN THEIR WORDS
K-State Head Coach Bruce Weber
On the game…
"In the first half, we didn't pass the basketball and we didn't move it. In the second half, we have 10 assists and we end up with 14 (assists) and 6 (turnovers) and made a lot of good plays. And then we finally stepped up and when we moved the ball, we shot the ball, we shot good shots. I still want Carti (Diarra) to get to the basket and get to the free throw line. I know he's worked on his step-back and it looks good on TV, but you've got to get to the basket. They're a good team. They've done a nice job. I would anticipate they're an NCAA team. They're tough for us. As a new team, it was not great scheduling. You don't want to play old and you don't want to play experienced. But our guys stuck together, we made some plays. I thought Mike's three, DaJuan's three, Levi (Stockard) with a jumper, a layup, two free throws; all those were really big plays. Even David Sloan just running the show, getting it where it needs to go. We had a lot of people give us good minutes. And Monta (Montavious Murphy) didn't have a lot of numbers, but he did a great job defensively."
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- K-State is now 91-25 all-time in season openers dating back to 1903, including 79-9 at home.
- K-State is now 28-4 in openers at Bramlage Coliseum and 26-2 in season openers… The Wildcats have now won 6 consecutive home season openers dating back to 2014.
- K-State is now 106-6 in non-conference play at home dating back to 2006-07 with wins in 93 of its last 97 non-conference home games… The Wildcats have won 30 consecutive non-conference home games.
- Head coach Bruce Weber is now 20-2 all-time in season openers in his career, including 7-1 at K-State.
- K-State is now 5-0 all-time against North Dakota State, including 4-0 at home.
- K-State is now 34-2 all-time against teams from the Summit League, including 33-0 at home.
- The Wildcats' starting lineup consisted of juniors Cartier Diarra and Mike McGuirl, senior Xavier Sneed, freshman Montavious Murphy and senior Makol Mawien… This is the first time using this lineup.
- Mawien and Diarra each started the season opener in 2018-19.
- Sneed has now played in 106 career games, including 73 starts (34 consecutive)… Mawien has played and started in every game in his career, which now stretches to 72… Diarra has now played in 64 games, including 32 starts (3 consecutive)… McGuirl has now played in 47 career games, including 3 starts.
- Murphy is the fourth Wildcat true freshman start a season opener under head coach Bruce Weber and the first since Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade against Maryland-Eastern Shore (11/13/15)… The other player to start as a true freshman under Weber was Marcus Foster (vs. Northern Colorado, 11/8/15).
- Freshmen Antonio Gordon and DaJuan Gordon were the first two players off the bench.
- The two Gordons, Murphy and junior David Sloan all saw their first career action.
- K-State scored 67 points on 42.6 percent (26-of-61) shooting, including 28.6 percent (6-of-21) from 3-point range, and connected on 64.3 percent (9-of-14) from the free throw line… The Wildcats shot 51.6 percent (16-of-31), including 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from 3-point range, in the second half.
- North Dakota State was held to 54 points on 28.8 percent (15-of-52) shooting, including 26.7 percent (8-of-30)… It marked the Bison's fewest points since scoring 53 at Montana on Dec. 17, 2018.
- K-State has now held 88 opponents to 60 points or less in the Weber era with the Wildcats boasting a 80-8 mark in those contests, including 19 of their last 32 opponents.
- K-State scored 34 points of its 67 points in the paint… The 34 points in the paint were the most since scoring 38 in the paint against Oklahoma State on Feb. 23, 2019.
- K-State managed just 6 turnovers on the night, which were the fewest since also totaling 6 against West Virginia on Jan. 9, 2018.
Player Notes
- Junior Cartier Diarra scored 23 points on 8-of-21 field goals… It was his first 20-point game… He has now scored in double figures in 18 career games… It marked just the second time leading the team in scoring… He also matched his career-best with 6 assists, which he also did at Baylor on Jan. 22, 2018.
- Diarra scored 15 of 23 points in the second half.
- Senior Makol Mawien scored 15 points on 6-of-12 field goals… He has now scored in double figures in 23 career games… He has now scored in double figures in 12 career games… The West Valley, Utah native produced his third double-double for his career in the win.
- Senior Xavier Sneed had 9 points and 6 rebounds in 25 minutes.
- Junior Levi Stockard III scored 8 points on 3-of-4 field goals and 2-of-2 free throws in just 9 minutes.
- Freshman Montavious Murphy played a team-high 33 minutes, posting 2 points and 6 rebounds.
- Freshman DaJuan Gordon scored his first career points, collecting 5 points on 2-of-2 field goals, including 1-of-1 from 3-point range to go with 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 23 minutes off the bench.
WHAT'S NEXT
K-State will hit the road this weekend to take on UNLV (1-0) on Saturday at 3 p.m., CT at the Thomas & Mack Center. It will be the earliest road game in school history and the first at UNLV?since 2009. The game will air on ESPN+.
Team Stats
NDSU
KState
FG%
.288
.426
3FG%
.267
.286
FT%
.640
.643
RB
39
39
TO
8
6
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
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