Ending 2025 – and Non-Con Play – on a High Note
Dec 29, 2025 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
There were no fireworks to commemorate the final game of the 2025 calendar year for Kansas State after its 94-85 win over Louisiana Monroe on Sunday that concluded the non-conference season for the Wildcats. But as the Big 12 Conference season prepares to drop in the Little Apple, head coach Jerome Tang says, "I'm excited to see how we can take this thing up."
PJ Haggerty scored 23 of his 24 points in the second half, and Nate Johnson hit four 3-pointers on his way to 14 points, as K-State, coming off a five-day Christmas break, saw its 20-point lead dwindle to four before the Wildcats regained control down the stretch to improve their record to 9-4. Louisiana Monroe dropped to 3-11.
The Wildcats' 9-4 record is their third-best mark in the last seven seasons and the best since the 2023-24 team began at 10-3.
"I thought it'd take a little bit to get the junk out of us, which it did, and then we got rolling, and we went into a lapse, so we have some things we have to clean up, but for the most part, I'm very pleased," Tang said. "We won, and it's hard to win, and I'm looking forward to getting prepared for the first Big 12 game."
K-State trailed for most of the first half, then gained momentum and grabbed its first double-digit lead just before heading into halftime with a 46-36 advantage. After scoring just one point in the first 20 minutes, Haggerty scored nine points less than three minutes into the second half to help build a 61-42 lead. ULM answered with a 22-6 scoring run and chopped away at its deficit, getting it to within 87-83 on a Lavell Brodnex layup late. But after the teams traded baskets, Haggerty fought through a double-team trap for a layup to make it 94-85, which proved to be the final points of the game.
Abdi Bashir Jr. had 11 points, Elias Rapieque and David Castillo had nine points apiece, and Khamari McGriff and Taj Manning each had eight.
"Taj is special, man," Tang said as Manning posted career highs with eight points and seven rebounds in just 13 minutes. "He's just the best. And he's starting to become more comfortable with more playing time."
Haggerty collected his ninth game of 20 or more points this season. Haggerty shot 7-of-16 from the floor and 10-of-11 on free throws, and he added eight rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes.
"The second half shots just went in," Haggerty said. "The first half, I missed a couple bunnies, but it's a part of the game. You just need to keep playing. I just never stopped believing in myself, and my teammates don't ever stop believing in me. Even when I miss, they tell me to keep shooting. That just builds confidence. It's a long game, so just keep playing hard."
K-State scored at least 90 points for the seventh time in 13 games — a first in the proud history of the men's basketball program.
Now comes the grind.
K-State opens the Big 12 season against No. 10 BYU at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum, then K-State travels to face No. 1 Arizona at 8:00 p.m. that following Wednesday.
"We have 13 games under our belt," Tang said. "Now there are no more buy games. Shoot, BYU and then at Arizona, we have No. 10 in the country and No. 1 in the country. This is the Big 12. I'm excited about it. I'm excited for the guys because they've risen to the occasion for the most part. I'm excited to see how we can take this thing up."
This will mark the first time in Big 12 history that K-State will start a league season playing against two Top 10 opponents.
"Everybody is excited," Haggerty said. "This is what we all came here for. The Big 12, big scenery, big-time games, big-time players. It'll be a fun Big 12 season. You don't look ahead."
Entering Sunday, K-State's first five Big 12 opponents had a combined 55-7 overall record with No. 10 BYU (12-1), at No. 1 Arizona (12-0), at Arizona State (9-4), UCF (11-1) and at Oklahoma State (11-1).
"I think we can beat anybody in the Big 12 and anybody in the Big 12 can beat us," Tang said. "We can play really well these first six games and be 1-5 or be 5-1. That's just how good this league is. There are six teams that are ranked, four teams getting votes, and 10 teams that could be in the Top 25. It's not just the best league in the country, but it's the deepest league in the country.
"Do I feel like we've put together a roster that's going to give us an opportunity to win games in the Big 12? Yes. How many of those games that is? It'll all come down to one- and two-possession games for the most part. But I like our group, and I like how we've improved from the beginning of the year to now."
K-State won six of its first seven games of this season, then it went through a four-game losing streak, before finishing out the non-conference slate with four-straight wins against Mississippi Valley (108-49), at Creighton (83-76), against South Dakota (106-76) and finally against the Warhawks (94-85).
"It's not exactly where we want it to be just yet," Tang said. "We feel like we didn't play well (against ULM) but we scored 94 points. There are things to clean up, but you get through this game and say, 'Man, let's take the win and let's move on.'"
Now the real fireworks await.
There were no fireworks to commemorate the final game of the 2025 calendar year for Kansas State after its 94-85 win over Louisiana Monroe on Sunday that concluded the non-conference season for the Wildcats. But as the Big 12 Conference season prepares to drop in the Little Apple, head coach Jerome Tang says, "I'm excited to see how we can take this thing up."
PJ Haggerty scored 23 of his 24 points in the second half, and Nate Johnson hit four 3-pointers on his way to 14 points, as K-State, coming off a five-day Christmas break, saw its 20-point lead dwindle to four before the Wildcats regained control down the stretch to improve their record to 9-4. Louisiana Monroe dropped to 3-11.
The Wildcats' 9-4 record is their third-best mark in the last seven seasons and the best since the 2023-24 team began at 10-3.
"I thought it'd take a little bit to get the junk out of us, which it did, and then we got rolling, and we went into a lapse, so we have some things we have to clean up, but for the most part, I'm very pleased," Tang said. "We won, and it's hard to win, and I'm looking forward to getting prepared for the first Big 12 game."
K-State trailed for most of the first half, then gained momentum and grabbed its first double-digit lead just before heading into halftime with a 46-36 advantage. After scoring just one point in the first 20 minutes, Haggerty scored nine points less than three minutes into the second half to help build a 61-42 lead. ULM answered with a 22-6 scoring run and chopped away at its deficit, getting it to within 87-83 on a Lavell Brodnex layup late. But after the teams traded baskets, Haggerty fought through a double-team trap for a layup to make it 94-85, which proved to be the final points of the game.
Abdi Bashir Jr. had 11 points, Elias Rapieque and David Castillo had nine points apiece, and Khamari McGriff and Taj Manning each had eight.
"Taj is special, man," Tang said as Manning posted career highs with eight points and seven rebounds in just 13 minutes. "He's just the best. And he's starting to become more comfortable with more playing time."
Haggerty collected his ninth game of 20 or more points this season. Haggerty shot 7-of-16 from the floor and 10-of-11 on free throws, and he added eight rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes.
"The second half shots just went in," Haggerty said. "The first half, I missed a couple bunnies, but it's a part of the game. You just need to keep playing. I just never stopped believing in myself, and my teammates don't ever stop believing in me. Even when I miss, they tell me to keep shooting. That just builds confidence. It's a long game, so just keep playing hard."
K-State scored at least 90 points for the seventh time in 13 games — a first in the proud history of the men's basketball program.
Now comes the grind.
K-State opens the Big 12 season against No. 10 BYU at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum, then K-State travels to face No. 1 Arizona at 8:00 p.m. that following Wednesday.
"We have 13 games under our belt," Tang said. "Now there are no more buy games. Shoot, BYU and then at Arizona, we have No. 10 in the country and No. 1 in the country. This is the Big 12. I'm excited about it. I'm excited for the guys because they've risen to the occasion for the most part. I'm excited to see how we can take this thing up."
This will mark the first time in Big 12 history that K-State will start a league season playing against two Top 10 opponents.
"Everybody is excited," Haggerty said. "This is what we all came here for. The Big 12, big scenery, big-time games, big-time players. It'll be a fun Big 12 season. You don't look ahead."
Entering Sunday, K-State's first five Big 12 opponents had a combined 55-7 overall record with No. 10 BYU (12-1), at No. 1 Arizona (12-0), at Arizona State (9-4), UCF (11-1) and at Oklahoma State (11-1).
"I think we can beat anybody in the Big 12 and anybody in the Big 12 can beat us," Tang said. "We can play really well these first six games and be 1-5 or be 5-1. That's just how good this league is. There are six teams that are ranked, four teams getting votes, and 10 teams that could be in the Top 25. It's not just the best league in the country, but it's the deepest league in the country.
"Do I feel like we've put together a roster that's going to give us an opportunity to win games in the Big 12? Yes. How many of those games that is? It'll all come down to one- and two-possession games for the most part. But I like our group, and I like how we've improved from the beginning of the year to now."
K-State won six of its first seven games of this season, then it went through a four-game losing streak, before finishing out the non-conference slate with four-straight wins against Mississippi Valley (108-49), at Creighton (83-76), against South Dakota (106-76) and finally against the Warhawks (94-85).
"It's not exactly where we want it to be just yet," Tang said. "We feel like we didn't play well (against ULM) but we scored 94 points. There are things to clean up, but you get through this game and say, 'Man, let's take the win and let's move on.'"
Now the real fireworks await.
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