Preview // K-State Concludes Paradise Jam with Longwood Monday

GAME 7
KANSAS STATE (4-2) vs. LONGWOOD (6-1)
25th Annual U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam Third-Place Game
Monday, November 24, 2024 >> 4:30 p.m., CT >> Elridge Wilburn Blake Sports and Fitness Center >> St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.

TELEVISION
ESPN+ / WatchESPN (link here)

Brad Wells (play-by-play)
Kevin Lehman (analyst)

RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Flagships: // KMAN 1350 & WIBW 580
Satellite Radio: none
Online: Varsity Network [free] / www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]

Brian Smoller (play-by-play)
Ben Boyle (analyst)

LIVE STATS
kstatesports.com
kstate.statbroadcast.com

COACHES
K-State: Jerome Tang [Charter Oak State College '07]
Record at K-State: 49-27/3rd Year
Career Record: 51-27*/3rd Year
vs. Longwood: 0-0 [0-0 neutral site]

Longwood: Griff Aldrich [Hampden Sydney '96]
Record at Longwood: 115-87/7th Year
Career Record: 115-87/7th Year
vs. K-State: 0-0 [0-0 neutral site]

LAST GAME STARTERS:
K-State (4-2)
G: #3 C.J. Jones
G: #11 Brendan Hausen
G: #2 Max Jones
W: #33 Coleman Hawkins
W: #1 David N'Guessan

Longwood (6-1)
G: #1 Kyrell Luc
G: #3 Colby Garland
G: #5 KJ McClurg
F: #0 Johan Nziemi
F: #25 Michael Christmas

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: First meeting
At Neutral Sites: First meeting
At Paradise Jam: First meeting
Active Streak: n/a
First Meeting: n/a
Last Meeting: n/a
Jerome Tang vs. Griff Aldrich: 0-0

K-STATE CONCLUDES PARADISE JAM WITH LONGWOOD MONDAY
K-State wraps up play in the 25th annual U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam on Monday, as the Wildcats play reigning Big South champion and 2024 NCAA Tournament participant Longwood (6-1) at 4:30 p.m., CT in the third-place game at the Elridge Wilburn Blake Sports and Fitness Center in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. The game will air on ESPN+.

The Wildcats lost a close one to Liberty, 67-65, in the final semifinal game on Sunday night, while the Lancers dropped an 84-69 decision to McNeese in the first semifinal. It was the first loss of the season for Longwood, which knocked off UAB, 89-81, in the first game of the tournament.

The eight-team tournament concludes on Monday with the three consolation games before the championship contest between Liberty (6-1) and McNeese (4-2) at 7 p.m., CT. UAB (3-4) and Louisiana (1-5) will play in the seventh-place game at 11:30 a.m., CT followed by the fourth-place game between George Washington (5-1) and Illinois State (4-2) at 2 p.m., CT. All games of the tournament can be seen on ESPN+.

LAST TIME OUT
Junior Dug McDaniel's 3-pointer at the buzzer rimmed off, as Liberty hung on for a 67-65 win over K-State in the second semifinal game of the 25th annual Paradise Jam on Sunday night before 2,225 fans at the Elridge Wilburn Blake Sports and Fitness Center.

Junior Brendan Hausen led four Wildcats in double figures with 14 points, all in the second half, joining senior Coleman Hawkins (11 points), senior David N'Guessan (10 points) and senior Achor Achor (10 points) in double digits. N'Guessan has now scored in double figures in 7 consecutive games dating back to last season.

K-State got exactly what it wanted in the final sequence with 3 opportunities to either win or tie it after Hawkins pulled the Wildcats to within 67-65 with 42.5 seconds left. Liberty was able to run the clock down to 14 seconds, however, senior Kaden Metheny's driving layup missed and McDaniel got the rebound. McDaniel raced up the court, missing a 3-pointer with 5 seconds before it was rebounded by N'Guessan. After N'Guessan's tip-in was off, McDaniel gave the Wildcats' one last chance, rebounding the miss and hoisting up a 3-pointer that rimmed out at the buzzer.

KEY STORYLINES

This marks K-State's third appearance (2002, 2018 and 2024) in the Paradise Jam with the Wildcats winning the 2018 Championship with victories over Eastern Kentucky (95-68), Penn (64-48) and Missouri (82-67). The team is 6-3 all-time in the tournament, posting a 1-2 mark in its inaugural appearance in 2002. K-State won the Cayman Islands Classic in coach Jerome Tang's first season in 2022 before finishing as the runner-up at the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship in 2023.
This will be a homecoming for both Tang and assistant coach Jareem Dowling, who spent most of their formative years in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tang was born in San Fernando, Trinidad in the West Indies before migrating to St. Croix as a child. He remained there until his family moved to Texas when he was 10. Dowling was born and raised in St. Croix before moving to Delaware during his high school years. Both Tang and Dowling has spent time working with the U.S. Virgin Islands National Basketball Teams with Dowling serving as the head coach for the Junior National Team.
Newcomers have combined to score 346 of the team's 453 points, including 15 of the 21 double-digit scoring games. Senior returner David N'Guessan (21, 12, 16, 10, 17 and 10 points) is the only Wildcat to score in double figures in the first 6 games, but the next 6 highest scorers are newcomers, including 4 double-digit scoring efforts by junior Brendan Hausen and two each by seniors Achor Achor, Coleman Hawkins and Max Jones.

A K-STATE WIN WOULD…

Give the Wildcats a third-place finish at the Paradise Jam with a 2-1 record.
Extend the Wildcats' all-time record to 7-3 at the Paradise Jam.
Give the Wildcats their first win vs. Longwood
Push its in-season tournament record to 185-117.
Give the Wildcats an 186-58 non-conference mark since 2006.

NOTES ON LONGWOOD

Led by seventh-year head coach Griff Aldrich, Longwood (6-1) won its first 6 games of the season before suffering its first loss on Sunday night to McNeese in the semifinals. The Lancers opened with home wins over Randolph (79-68), Morgan State (84-66), Milwaukee (76-62) and UT-Martin (64-62) before a road victory over Binghampton (66-60) and the neutral-site win over UAB.
Longwood is averaging 75.3 points on 42.3 percent shooting, including 27.1 percent from 3-point range, to go with 36.1 rebounds, 11.1 assists, 7.9 steals and 3.1 blocks per game. The Lancers are allowing 68.7 points on 44.7 percent shooting, including 26.4 percent from 3-point range. They are connecting on 76.9 percent from the free throw line.
Longwood has six players averaging better than 7 points per game, including a pair of double-digit scorers in junior KJ McClurg and graduate Michael Christmas. McClurg is averaging a team-best 14.3 points per game on 40.7 percent shooting, including 36.8 percent from 3-point range, while hitting on 79.2 percent from the free throw line. Christmas is second in scoring at 10.9 points per game on 38.1 percent shooting to go with a team-high 4.1 rebounds per game. Sophomore Colby Garland paces the team with 28 assists, while senior Kyrell Luc has a team-best 12 steals.
Longwood is led by Aldrich, who has a 115-87 overall record in his seventh season as head coach. He has led the Lancers to three consecutive 20-win seasons. His teams are 73-34 since the start of the 2021-22 season after going 42-53 in his first 3 seasons.

LAST GAME OUT

McNeese's Sincere Parker had a game-high 31 points to pace a Cowboy offense which connected on 61.8 percent from the field en route to an 84-69 win over Longwood in the first semifinal game on Sunday night.
The Lancers shot 42.9 percent (21-of-49) from the field, including 35 percent (7-of-20) from 3-point range, but allowed the Cowboys to score 37 points off 20 turnovers. Michael Christmas led three players in double figures with 12 points, while senior Johan Nziemi and sophomore Emanuel Richards had 11 points each.

SERIES HISTORY

This is the first meeting between Kansas State and Longwood.
K-State is 11-1 all-time against current members of Big South, including 0-0 in neutral site meetings.

SERIES HISTORY [0-0]
First meeting

IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Overall Record: 184-117/92nd Tournament
In-Season Tournament Titles: 17
Last In-Season Tournament Title: 2022 Cayman Islands Classic (3-0)
At Paradise Jam: Third Appearance / 2002
Paradise Jam Record: 6-3

K-State are playing in its 92nd in-season tournament this week at the Paradise Jam, including its 12th outside the continental United States and the first since going 3-0 and winning the Cayman Islands Classic on Nov. 21-23, 2022, in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. It is the first overall in-season tournament since going 1-1 at the Baha Mar Hoops Championship in Nassau, The Bahamas on Nov. 17-19, 2023.
K-State now has an 184-117 overall record in playing in 92 in-season tournaments with 17 tournament titles to its credit. The team won its last such title at the 2022 Cayman Islands Classic, defeating Rhode Island (77-57), Nevada (96-87 in OT) and LSU (61-59). In fact, the last 3 titles have come at tournaments outside the continental U.S., in 2011 Diamond Head Classic (Hawai'i), 2018 Paradise Jam (U.S.V.I.) and 2022 Cayman Islands Classic (Cayman Islands).
The Wildcats have played in 12 tournaments outside the continental U.S., starting with the 1985 Maui Invitational. Others include the 1989 Great Alaska Shootout (runner-up), 1993 Hawai'i Nike Festival (champion), 2011 Diamond Head Classic (champion), Maui Invitational (1998 and 2014), Paradise Jam (2002 and 2018), Puerto Rico Tip-Off (2009 and 2013), 2022 Cayman Islands Classic (champion) and 2023 Baha Mar Hoops Championship (runner-up).
This is the third appearance in the Paradise Jam, including the first since winning the tournament title in 2018. K-State went 1-2 in its first appearance in 2002, losing to BYU (64-73) and Toledo (50-58) before defeating Michigan (82-71). In the run to the title in 2018, the Wildcats beat Eastern Kentucky (95-68), Penn (64-48) and Missouri (82-67).

LAST TIME OUT:
LIBERTY 67, K-STATE 65

Junior Dug McDaniel's 3-pointer at the buzzer rimmed off, as Liberty hung on for a 67-65 win over K-State in the second semifinal game of the 25th annual Paradise Jam on Sunday night before 2,225 fans at the Elridge Wilburn Blake Sports and Fitness Center.
Junior Brendan Hausen led four Wildcats in double figures with 14 points, all in the second half, joining senior Coleman Hawkins (11 points), senior David N'Guessan (10 points) and senior Achor Achor (10 points) in double digits. N'Guessan has now scored in double figures in 7 consecutive games dating back to last season.
K-State got exactly what it wanted in the final sequence with 3 opportunities to either win or tie it after Hawkins pulled the Wildcats to within 67-65 with 42.5 seconds left. Liberty was able to run the clock down to 14 seconds, however, senior Kaden Metheny's driving layup missed and McDaniel got the rebound. McDaniel raced up the court, missing a 3-pointer with 5 seconds before it was rebounded by N'Guessan. After N'Guessan's tip-in was off, McDaniel gave the Wildcats' one last chance, rebounding the miss and hoisting up a 3-pointer that rimmed out at the buzzer.
In a game that was back and forth in the second half with both teams making big-time shots, it was the little things that proved to be difference for Liberty in victory.
Each team had 13 turnovers, but it was the Flames who were best able to take advantage of those miscues, outscoring the Wildcats, 24-11, in points off turnovers. Liberty made 10 of 14 free throw attempts, including 6 in a row to end the game, after ranking 339th in the category in the NCAA at 60.2 percent. In contrast, K-State had just 5 free throw attempts, making four.
K-State led by as many as 5 points (27-22) in the first half before Liberty ended the half on an 8-0 run to take a 32-29 lead. The Flames carried that momentum into the second half, running out to a 39-31 lead before the Wildcats closed to within a possession on several occasions.
Behind the 3-point shooting of Hausen, K-State was able to tie it twice, first at 50-all then again at 55-all, before grabbing its only lead at 63-62 after Achor's layup with 2:31 remaining.
Junior Colin Porter's second 3-pointer with 2:15 to play proved to be the game winner, which was followed by a pair of free throws from junior Owen Aquino with 50 seconds left, for a 67-63 lead.
K-State connected on 45 percent (27-of-60) from the field, including 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from 3-point range, with 38 points in the paint.
Hausen, who was 0-of-2 in the first half, came alive in the second half, leading all scorers with 14 points by connecting on 5-of-13 field goals, including 4-of-10 from beyond the arc. It was his third double-digit scoring game in the first 6 games and his third with 4 or more 3-pointers.
Hawkins was once again solid all-around, posting his second double-digit scoring game as a Wildcat with 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting to go with a team-high 4 assists, 5 rebounds, a steal and a block in a team-high 36 minutes. He has 5 or more points, 5 or more rebounds, 4 or more assists and at least one steal and one block in 4 of 6 games this season.
Achor picked up his second consecutive double-digit scoring game with 10 points on 5-of-7 field goals and 5 rebounds off the bench, while N'Guessan scored his 10 points on 4-of-8 field goals and 2-of-2 free throws to go with 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a block.

POSTGAME NEWS & NOTES

The loss snapped K-State's 6-game winning streak at the Paradise Jam.
K-State now has an 184-117 overall record in-season tournament play.
K-State is now 185-58 in non-conference play since 2006-07.
This was the first meeting between K-State and Liberty.

Preview // K-State Concludes Paradise Jam with Longwood Monday

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Preview // K-State Concludes Paradise Jam with Longwood Monday

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