Kansas State men’s basketball got the job done against Cleveland State on Saturday afternoon, storming past the Vikings in a 77-64 win at Bramlage Coliseum.
“I thought we played about 20 minutes the way we’re capable of playing, and then we kind of relaxed and showed some immaturity,” head coach Jerome Tang said. “As a team, we have to grow, but overall, thankful for the win. It’s hard to win.”
Junior guard Brendan Hausen stole the spotlight with his sharpshooting capabilities. The Villanova transfer carded a statline of 22 points on 7-10 shooting, including a mark of 6-9 from long range.
“Brendan is Brendan — he’s doing Brendan things,” Tang said. “What I like is the couple of illegal screens that he picked up. I like the fact that he was taking pride in his defense … he didn’t just settle for the shot.”
Forward Coleman Hawkins had his best scoring performance on the young season. The Illinois transfer went for 12 points with three rebounds and five assists. Returning wing David N’Guessan notched 12 points as well, followed by transfer guard Max Jones.
Early on, it was a different story than the season opener on Tuesday night, when K-State fell behind early and trailed for most of the opening half. This time, K-State never trailed, but it was not necessarily a polished product on the floor.
K-State committed 10 turnovers in the period — already more than it tallied in the entire season opener. The team only made two field goals from beyond the arc while just clearing a clip of 50% on all first-half field goals.
The Wildcats still entered the break with a 36-24 lead, relying on their defensive performance. K-State forced as many turnovers as it committed, 10, and held the Vikings to shooting 9-32 on field goals at 28%.
Led by Hausen’s shooting, K-State quickly found its groove on offense out of the locker room. The Wildcats made their first five field goals of the second half, including two 3-pointers by Hausen to sprint to their largest lead at the time above 20 points.
“My teammates did a great job of finding me,” Hausen said. “It is nice to see that first one go through … definitely just let the game come to myself and took the shots that I know I can make.”
Although Cleveland State kept the final deficit below 20, K-State flipped the script offensively in the second half. The Wildcats shot 63% and went 8-13 from long distance in the period.
Up next for K-State is a reunion at Bramlage with former guard Cam Carter, who transferred to LSU during the offseason. The Tigers come to Manhattan for an 8 p.m. showcase on Thursday.
