Kansas State University Athletics
Monday, December 1
Manhattan, Kan.
7 p.m. CT
Kansas State University
5-3,0-0Big 12
66
vs
82
Bowling Green
6-2,0-0MAC
1
2
F
Bowling Green
49
33
82
Kansas St.
35
31
66
Big First-Half Effort Carries Bowling Green Past K-State, 82-66
Dec 01, 2025 | Men's Basketball
Box ScoreFinal Stats (.pdf)Postgame Quotes (.pdf)HighlightsJerome Tang Press ConferencePlayer Press Conference
Sophomore David Castillo scored a career-high 22 points in the loss.
MANHATTAN, Kan.  – Senior Sam Towns led all scorers with 27 points, including 17 in a big first-half performance by Bowling Green, as the Falcons earned an 82-66 wire-to-wire win over Kansas State on Monday night before 6,917 fans at Bramlage Coliseum.
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Led by Towns, Bowling Green (6-2) set the tone for the game in the first half, scoring 49 points on 50 percent (19-of-38) shooting, including 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from 3-point range, in building a 14-point lead at the half. Towns was nearly perfect from the field in the opening half, connecting on 7-of-8 field goal attempts, including all 3 from beyond the arc.
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Despite cooling off from the field in the second half, the Falcons answered every attempt by the Wildcats to cut into the deficit, keeping the lead in double figures for much of the time, including by 18 points with 36 seconds to play. Towns was joined in double figures by seniors Javontae Campbell and Javon Ruffin, who each scored 17 points.
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The 27 points by Towns tied for the most by an opponent this season.
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K-State (5-3) dropped its third straight game after opening the season 5-0, as the Wildcats were held to season-lows in points (66), field goal percentage (39.3) and free throw percentage (54.5) while hitting on just 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from 3-point range.
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Sophomore David Castillo, in his first start of the season, produced a career-high 22 points on 8-of-15 field goals, including 3-of-9 from 3-point range, while junior P.J. Haggerty added 17 points on 6-of-19 shooting, including 1-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 4-of-9 from the line.
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The Wildcats turned the ball over a season-low 6 times and surrendered just 3 steals against the Falcons, who lead the NCAA in turnovers forced per game (20.4) and steals per game (13.4).
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The loss snapped a 6-game non-conference winning streak at Bramlage Coliseum, as the Wildcats lost for just the third time in a non-conference home game under head coach Jerome Tang.
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KEY PLAYER(S)
Towns set the tone in the first half with 17 points, going 7-of-8 from the field, including 3-of-3 from 3-point range, en route to scoring a game-high 27-point effort. He finished 9-of-14 from the field, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the line.
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K-State got a career-high 22 points from Castillo, who finished 8-of-15 from the field, including 3-of-9 from 3-point range, and 3-of-4 from the free throw line.
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KEY MOMENT(S)
After trailing by as many as 7 points in the first 12 minutes off the game, K-State used a 7-2 run to close to within 33-31 with 5:39 before halftime, however, Bowling Green responded with 8 straight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, to go ahead by 10 points. The lead grew to 14 points at the break after the Falcons finished the half with 6 straight points.
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KEY STATS
While Bowling Green scored its 82 points on 45.2 percent shooting, it was the defense that held the potent K-State offense to a season-low 66 points while season-lows in both field goal percentage (39.3) and free throw percentage (54.5).
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HEAD COACH JEROME TANG
Opening statement…
"I'm blessed to do what I do. I'm grateful to my Lord and Savior that I have the chance to do this. I don't feel very blessed right now, pretty pissed off and ready to get to practice tomorrow"
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On how many players he trusts on the court…
"I don't think anyone played defense today. This is so disappointing because we had three really good days of preparation, what we worked on. I thought the game plan, the scout, if you watch the scout, everything we said they were going to do, they did. You spend the time in preparation, you do the walk throughs, you do the practices, you do all those things to take away what it is they want to do, and they still did what they wanted to do. That boils down to a focus and effort thing, and when it's focus and effort, there's no x's and o's for that. There's no sub for that, we just didn't play hard enough, we didn't deserve to win. We didn't deserve to wear a K-State uniform tonight. If I could've, I would have walked out, I would've walked out a lot earlier. I'd left with some of the fans. I mean, just thinking we have fans freezing outside and doing all the things they're doing, and that's the effort that we gave. That's on me. I'll take that. I don't deserve it, but I'll take it, but we are going to fix some things."
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On his message to the team…
"See you tomorrow morning, eight o'clock. You saw it, it looked like they were running five on no offense out there and then shooting pop up shots at the end of it."
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On defining toughness…
"Tonight, I didn't see toughness. I've been wearing a toughness shirt to practice the last three days and that wasn't toughness. It's just not who I am, it's not who our staff is. We are going to figure this thing out. You play four guards because it's going to provide more space for you. Now they don't get to clog the lane, and now you got guys you can spit the ball to and we have less assists this game than almost every game except Indiana, percentage of shots made that were assisted. That's selfish. That's not playing smart basketball. When we were playing three guards, our guards were averaging probably 14-16 rebounds a game. This game, we have four of them out there, and they only get 11 rebounds, maybe 12. If you play four guards, you have to have some grit and toughness, you have to. We will look at it, we will fit it, and we will get better. This is not a question of these guys character or ability, but it is a question of their approach to every team that they're going to play. Those guys had a chip on their shoulder, and they came in here to win a basketball game. We looked like we just came to play, and that's what happens when you don't show up and bring it, you're going to get beat. That's that. That's what is going to happen, as much as they can sit in the huddle and say we are going to turn it on. You look at TCU earlier this year, they lost to New Orleans and just turn around and beat Florida. So, in college basketball, it's that. I can take losses. If somebody beat you and you gave a great effort and it just wasn't a good night, I can live with that, but when you don't give an effort, you don't deserve to wear this jersey. You don't deserve to have K-State on the front of it, because that's not who we are. The people who wear this jersey, the people who graduate from this place, the people who support this place, they are grinders. They work right, they get up early and stay up late, and they show up every time. I'm so disappointed for our fans and the people who support us and I'm going to make sure this doesn't happen again."
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On P.J. Haggerty's offensive inefficiencies the last two games…
"He's missing shots and taking tough ones, we need to stop him from taking tough ones and teach him how to make the right play with someone. That's part of the growth process."
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On how frustrating it is to not close the scoring gap…
"In the first half, we let them score 49 points. In the first 10 minutes, they had 25, they were so comfortable, and they watched the ball go through, the hole just got bigger and bigger. We never put any real pressure on them. Like you said, we cut it down to single digits, they came down, they scored. They probably scored at the rim or got a wide option shot because they made you pay every time you made a mistake. We don't know how to sit down and guard the ball and keep it in front of us so that we don't cause rotation, so you don't have to help, and we have to get better at that."
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On if defense is his only concern…
"You're trying to figure out how to create space for guys. That's why we went to the four guards. If you saw Indiana or Nebraska, they just put another guy in the lane because they didn't have to guard our forward. Then now you have a guard going downhill, trying to finish over three guys. I'm concerned with the types of shots that we took tonight, but more important than that was the effort. We'll go look at the shots. I think at the end of the day, the most important thing was the effort that we gave, that didn't give us a chance to win tonight."
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FIRST HALF
Bowling Green jumped out early with 5 straight points before baskets by senior Nate Johnson and sophomore David Castillo closed the gap to 14-12 at the first media timeout. The Falcons continued their hot start with 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions to go ahead 25-19 before a Johnson bucket cut the deficit to 25-21 near the midway point of the first half.
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The Falcons pushed ahead 31-24 after a 3-pointer before a Castillo 3-pointer sparked a 7-2 run that pulled the Wildcats to within 33-31 at the 5:39 mark. However, Bowling Green responded with 8 straight points to go up by 10 points at 41-31. The lead continued to grow from there, as the Falcons ended the half with 6 straight points to go ahead 49-35 at the break.
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Senior Sam Towns paced all scorers with 17 points for Bowling Green, which connected on 52.8 percent (19-of-36) from the field, including 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from 3-point range. K-State shot 45.5 percent (15-of-33) from the field, including 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from beyond the arc. Castillo led the Wildcats with 13 points.
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SECOND HALF
Junior P.J. Haggerty opened the half with a 3-point play, but Bowling Green continued its stellar shooting from beyond the arc with a 3-pointer as the shot clock was winding down. The lead grew to 57-40 at the first media timeout after a pair of free throws and an 11th 3-pointer of the game.
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Castillo helped the Wildcats close to within 61-51 just after the second media timeout, as he scored 7 points in a stretch where they outscored the Falcons, 11-4. The deficit was just eight points at 63-55 after 4 quick points from Haggerty, however, senior Javon Ruffin connected on his fifth 3-pointer of the game to push the lead back into double figures. The teams traded points before the Falcons put the game away with 8 straight points to go ahead 78-61 with 1:37 to play.
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Bowling Green out-shot K-State, 37.5 to 32.1 percent, as the Wildcats made just 1-of-10 from 3-point range in the second half.
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BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
TEAM NOTES
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
WHAT'S NEXT
K-State continues its homestand on Saturday afternoon, as the Wildcats welcome BIG EAST foe Seton Hall (7-1) to Bramlage Coliseum. Tip is set for 3:01 p.m., CT and will air on ESPNU. Tickets are available starting at $17 online at kstatesports.com/tickets as well as by calling (800) 221.CATS or by visiting the Athletics Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum.
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How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on K-State men's basketball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X, Instagram and Facebook.
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Led by Towns, Bowling Green (6-2) set the tone for the game in the first half, scoring 49 points on 50 percent (19-of-38) shooting, including 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from 3-point range, in building a 14-point lead at the half. Towns was nearly perfect from the field in the opening half, connecting on 7-of-8 field goal attempts, including all 3 from beyond the arc.
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Despite cooling off from the field in the second half, the Falcons answered every attempt by the Wildcats to cut into the deficit, keeping the lead in double figures for much of the time, including by 18 points with 36 seconds to play. Towns was joined in double figures by seniors Javontae Campbell and Javon Ruffin, who each scored 17 points.
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The 27 points by Towns tied for the most by an opponent this season.
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K-State (5-3) dropped its third straight game after opening the season 5-0, as the Wildcats were held to season-lows in points (66), field goal percentage (39.3) and free throw percentage (54.5) while hitting on just 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from 3-point range.
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Sophomore David Castillo, in his first start of the season, produced a career-high 22 points on 8-of-15 field goals, including 3-of-9 from 3-point range, while junior P.J. Haggerty added 17 points on 6-of-19 shooting, including 1-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 4-of-9 from the line.
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The Wildcats turned the ball over a season-low 6 times and surrendered just 3 steals against the Falcons, who lead the NCAA in turnovers forced per game (20.4) and steals per game (13.4).
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The loss snapped a 6-game non-conference winning streak at Bramlage Coliseum, as the Wildcats lost for just the third time in a non-conference home game under head coach Jerome Tang.
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KEY PLAYER(S)
Towns set the tone in the first half with 17 points, going 7-of-8 from the field, including 3-of-3 from 3-point range, en route to scoring a game-high 27-point effort. He finished 9-of-14 from the field, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the line.
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K-State got a career-high 22 points from Castillo, who finished 8-of-15 from the field, including 3-of-9 from 3-point range, and 3-of-4 from the free throw line.
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KEY MOMENT(S)
After trailing by as many as 7 points in the first 12 minutes off the game, K-State used a 7-2 run to close to within 33-31 with 5:39 before halftime, however, Bowling Green responded with 8 straight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, to go ahead by 10 points. The lead grew to 14 points at the break after the Falcons finished the half with 6 straight points.
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KEY STATS
While Bowling Green scored its 82 points on 45.2 percent shooting, it was the defense that held the potent K-State offense to a season-low 66 points while season-lows in both field goal percentage (39.3) and free throw percentage (54.5).
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HEAD COACH JEROME TANG
Opening statement…
"I'm blessed to do what I do. I'm grateful to my Lord and Savior that I have the chance to do this. I don't feel very blessed right now, pretty pissed off and ready to get to practice tomorrow"
Â
On how many players he trusts on the court…
"I don't think anyone played defense today. This is so disappointing because we had three really good days of preparation, what we worked on. I thought the game plan, the scout, if you watch the scout, everything we said they were going to do, they did. You spend the time in preparation, you do the walk throughs, you do the practices, you do all those things to take away what it is they want to do, and they still did what they wanted to do. That boils down to a focus and effort thing, and when it's focus and effort, there's no x's and o's for that. There's no sub for that, we just didn't play hard enough, we didn't deserve to win. We didn't deserve to wear a K-State uniform tonight. If I could've, I would have walked out, I would've walked out a lot earlier. I'd left with some of the fans. I mean, just thinking we have fans freezing outside and doing all the things they're doing, and that's the effort that we gave. That's on me. I'll take that. I don't deserve it, but I'll take it, but we are going to fix some things."
Â
On his message to the team…
"See you tomorrow morning, eight o'clock. You saw it, it looked like they were running five on no offense out there and then shooting pop up shots at the end of it."
Â
On defining toughness…
"Tonight, I didn't see toughness. I've been wearing a toughness shirt to practice the last three days and that wasn't toughness. It's just not who I am, it's not who our staff is. We are going to figure this thing out. You play four guards because it's going to provide more space for you. Now they don't get to clog the lane, and now you got guys you can spit the ball to and we have less assists this game than almost every game except Indiana, percentage of shots made that were assisted. That's selfish. That's not playing smart basketball. When we were playing three guards, our guards were averaging probably 14-16 rebounds a game. This game, we have four of them out there, and they only get 11 rebounds, maybe 12. If you play four guards, you have to have some grit and toughness, you have to. We will look at it, we will fit it, and we will get better. This is not a question of these guys character or ability, but it is a question of their approach to every team that they're going to play. Those guys had a chip on their shoulder, and they came in here to win a basketball game. We looked like we just came to play, and that's what happens when you don't show up and bring it, you're going to get beat. That's that. That's what is going to happen, as much as they can sit in the huddle and say we are going to turn it on. You look at TCU earlier this year, they lost to New Orleans and just turn around and beat Florida. So, in college basketball, it's that. I can take losses. If somebody beat you and you gave a great effort and it just wasn't a good night, I can live with that, but when you don't give an effort, you don't deserve to wear this jersey. You don't deserve to have K-State on the front of it, because that's not who we are. The people who wear this jersey, the people who graduate from this place, the people who support this place, they are grinders. They work right, they get up early and stay up late, and they show up every time. I'm so disappointed for our fans and the people who support us and I'm going to make sure this doesn't happen again."
Â
On P.J. Haggerty's offensive inefficiencies the last two games…
"He's missing shots and taking tough ones, we need to stop him from taking tough ones and teach him how to make the right play with someone. That's part of the growth process."
Â
On how frustrating it is to not close the scoring gap…
"In the first half, we let them score 49 points. In the first 10 minutes, they had 25, they were so comfortable, and they watched the ball go through, the hole just got bigger and bigger. We never put any real pressure on them. Like you said, we cut it down to single digits, they came down, they scored. They probably scored at the rim or got a wide option shot because they made you pay every time you made a mistake. We don't know how to sit down and guard the ball and keep it in front of us so that we don't cause rotation, so you don't have to help, and we have to get better at that."
Â
On if defense is his only concern…
"You're trying to figure out how to create space for guys. That's why we went to the four guards. If you saw Indiana or Nebraska, they just put another guy in the lane because they didn't have to guard our forward. Then now you have a guard going downhill, trying to finish over three guys. I'm concerned with the types of shots that we took tonight, but more important than that was the effort. We'll go look at the shots. I think at the end of the day, the most important thing was the effort that we gave, that didn't give us a chance to win tonight."
Â
FIRST HALF
Bowling Green jumped out early with 5 straight points before baskets by senior Nate Johnson and sophomore David Castillo closed the gap to 14-12 at the first media timeout. The Falcons continued their hot start with 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions to go ahead 25-19 before a Johnson bucket cut the deficit to 25-21 near the midway point of the first half.
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The Falcons pushed ahead 31-24 after a 3-pointer before a Castillo 3-pointer sparked a 7-2 run that pulled the Wildcats to within 33-31 at the 5:39 mark. However, Bowling Green responded with 8 straight points to go up by 10 points at 41-31. The lead continued to grow from there, as the Falcons ended the half with 6 straight points to go ahead 49-35 at the break.
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Senior Sam Towns paced all scorers with 17 points for Bowling Green, which connected on 52.8 percent (19-of-36) from the field, including 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from 3-point range. K-State shot 45.5 percent (15-of-33) from the field, including 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from beyond the arc. Castillo led the Wildcats with 13 points.
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SECOND HALF
Junior P.J. Haggerty opened the half with a 3-point play, but Bowling Green continued its stellar shooting from beyond the arc with a 3-pointer as the shot clock was winding down. The lead grew to 57-40 at the first media timeout after a pair of free throws and an 11th 3-pointer of the game.
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Castillo helped the Wildcats close to within 61-51 just after the second media timeout, as he scored 7 points in a stretch where they outscored the Falcons, 11-4. The deficit was just eight points at 63-55 after 4 quick points from Haggerty, however, senior Javon Ruffin connected on his fifth 3-pointer of the game to push the lead back into double figures. The teams traded points before the Falcons put the game away with 8 straight points to go ahead 78-61 with 1:37 to play.
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Bowling Green out-shot K-State, 37.5 to 32.1 percent, as the Wildcats made just 1-of-10 from 3-point range in the second half.
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BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- K-State has now lost 3 in a row after opening the season 5-0.
- The home loss snapped a 6-game non-conference winning streak at Bramlage Coliseum.
- K-State is now 193-65 in non-conference games since 2006.
- K-State is now 150-19 in home non-conference games since 2006.
- K-State is now 134-15 in non-conference games at Bramlage Coliseum since 2006.
- K-State is now 43-10 at Bramlage Coliseum under head coach Jerome Tang, including 23-3 in non-conference play.
- K-State used a starting lineup of junior P.J. Haggerty, senior Nate Johnson, junior Abdi Bashir Jr., sophomore David Castillo and senior Khamari McGriff… This is the first time using this lineup and third different lineup used this season.
- Haggerty now has 74 career starts (Tulsa/Memphis/K-State), N. Johnson now has 68 career starts (Akron/K-State), McGriff now has 50 career starts (UNC Wilmington/K-State) and Bashir now has 40 career starts (Monmouth/K-State)… This is the third career start for Castillo and the first this season.
- Senior Marcus Johnson made his first appearance of the season.
- Senior Nate Johnson played in his 100th career college game.
TEAM NOTES
- K-State scored its 66 points on 39.3 percent (24-of-61) shooting, including 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from 3-point range, with 11 assists and a season-low 6 turnovers.
- K-State had season-lows in points, field goal percentage and free throw percentage (54.5).
- Bowling Green out-rebounded K-State, 39-32, using its 15 offensive rebounds to post a 17-14 edge in second-chance points.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Two Wildcats scored in double figures, including a career-high 22 points from sophomore David Castillo and 17 points from junior P.J. Haggerty.
- Castillo posted his first career 20-point game, scoring his career-high 22 points on 8-of-15 field goals, including 3-of-9 from 3-point range, and 3-of-4 free throws in 33 minutes… It was his fifth career double-digit scoring game, including his fourth this season.
- Haggerty finished with 17 points on 6-of-19 field goals, including 1-of-4 from 3-point range, and 4-of-9 from the free throw line with 4 rebounds and 2 assists in 32 minutes… It marked his first time not leading the team in scoring.
- Haggerty has scored in double figures in all 8 games this season… He has now scored in double figures in 72 of 80 career games in college.
WHAT'S NEXT
K-State continues its homestand on Saturday afternoon, as the Wildcats welcome BIG EAST foe Seton Hall (7-1) to Bramlage Coliseum. Tip is set for 3:01 p.m., CT and will air on ESPNU. Tickets are available starting at $17 online at kstatesports.com/tickets as well as by calling (800) 221.CATS or by visiting the Athletics Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum.
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How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on K-State men's basketball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X, Instagram and Facebook.
Team Stats
BGSU
KState
FG%
.452
.393
3FG%
.462
.261
FT%
.737
.545
RB
39
32
TO
8
6
STL
3
3
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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