K-State built a big halftime lead, then fended off a furious comeback attempt in the first round of the Paradise Jam tournament.
The Kansas State Wildcats built a 19-point halftime lead but had to sweat out the final minutes on their way to an 83-71 victory over the George Washington Revolutionaries in the first round of the Paradise Jam tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands Friday evening.
K-State (4-1) played with energy early and got buckets from four different Wildcats as they built a 14-4 lead. The Cats forced GW (4-1) to take contested shots and controlled the backboards to build the early advantage. After a beautiful assist from Dug McDaniel set up Max Jones for a lay-up to conclude the first half festivities, K-State went to the locker room with a 46-27 advantage.
Unfortunately, the Wildcats had a difficult time playing through their own prosperity. They did not return to the floor with the same energy after the break, and when the Revolutionaries began to penetrate seams in the lane and to knock down open three-point buckets, they cut the K-State lead to 59-55.
Coleman Hawkins, who has been quiet in the scoring column so far this season, chose that moment to knock down a smooth three-point bucket from left of the free circle. After a GW lay-up, Max Jones hit from the right corner while being fouled. He connected on the free throw to complete the 4-point play, and K-State had reassembled a 9-point advantage, 66-57, with 8:50 to play.
George Washington hung around but never pushed closer than a 7-point margin the rest of the way. K-State created extra possessions with offensive rebounds twice late in the game and ultimately stretched its lead as high as 14 before settling for the 83-71 final.
Five Wildcats scored in double-figures, led by David N’Guessan, who paired his 17 points with nine rebounds, including 3 on the offensive end of the floor. Max Jones scored an efficient 12 on 4-6 marksmanship. Dug McDaniel showcased a nice floater off the glass among his 11 points, and he led the Cats with 5 assists.
Brendan Hausen contributed 11 points, though he was 3-12 from the field and only 3-11 from beyond the 3-point arc. Achor Achor scored 10 in just six minutes of playing time, as he was plagued by foul trouble.
Hawkins was one point and one rebound shy of a double-double, and he led K-State with 3 steals, including one that he poked away from a dribbler while he was falling down.
The Cats had 19 assists on 29 field goals, while committing 14 turnovers. They were only 16-27 from the charity stripe, but don’t blame N’Guessan. He was 7-10.
K-State shot 52% (29-56) from the floor and held GW to 32% (20-55). Rebounding was likely the biggest difference, as the Wildcats out-boarded the Revs 42-28. Now, we need to see some consistency in that rebounding effort.
Four George Washington players reached double-digit scoring, led by Jacoi Hutchinson, who connected on 3 of his 7 three-point attempts and scored 19 points overall.
All-in-all, K-State took a step forward in this game. There is still plenty of room for growth, but when it was gut-check time, they showed they can put things back together and pull away from a team that was playing with great confidence and determination.
Next
K-State will take a Saturday break before resuming play on Sunday. The Cats will play Liberty University (C-USA, 5-1) at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.