Kansas State men’s basketball controlled its Paradise Jam opener from the tip, never losing the lead and withstanding every George Washington comeback attempt to win 83-71 on Friday.
The Wildcats got double-digit scoring efforts from five players in the game including David N’Guessan (17), Dug McDaniel (13), Max Jones (12), Brendan Hausen (11), and Achor Achor (10).
“That’s what we wanted to do [on offense],” head coach Jerome Tang said to K-State Athletics. “In tournament play like this, everybody has hope, and our goal was to try and take away hope early and get them on their heels.”
Illinois transfer forward Coleman Hawkins had one of his better games at a Wildcat, not reaching double figures but scoring nine points, adding nine rebounds and playing good defense with three steals and two blocks.
“Nine points, nine rebounds and he’s matched up against the best player [Darren Buchanan Jr.)] on the other team and holds him well under his scoring average,” Tang said. “And just his activity. He just does so many things that don’t show up on the stat sheet.”
In the first half, K-State got off to a quick start like they wanted, getting a double-digit lead and maintaining it for the rest of the half. The Wildcats shot 52% from the field and hit timely threes which helped them lead by a commanding 46-27 mark at the break.
In the second half it was George Washington that got off to a quick start with a run to make it a 10-point game and ultimately cutting the Wildcat lead down to four points.
But a quick 9-4 run got the lead back out to nine and soon got to double digits where it remained the rest of the game.
“It’s a game of runs, and they made a run, and one of the things that we’ve been talking about is having the maturity to sustain our run, and then to be able to fire back to punch back,” Tang said.
One of those guys that helped stop the run and get it going on offense was the transfer point guard McDaniel who made an impact scoring and assisting down the stretch.
McDaniel had 13 points but also had five assists and standing at 5-foot-11, he used his quickness to get two steals on the defensive end making an impact there as well.
“When things started going south, Dug didn’t go south,” Tang said. “That’s maturity, that’s some growth. That’s something that I have been on to him about.”
George Washington had trouble staying in front of McDaniel allowing Dug to get downhill, either taking a floater or assisting one of his open teammates.
The ‘Cats out-rebounded George Washington 42-28, something K-State has struggled to do against opponents which could be a massive advantage for a lengthy team this season.
K-State will take on Liberty in the second round of the Paradise Jam on Sunday at 7 p.m. Liberty beat Louisiana 89-69 in its opener. The game will take place on ESPN+.
