Kansas State men’s basketball snapped its six-game skid in dominant fashion, setting down the West Virginia Mountaineers 73-60 at Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday night.
“We still have to keep getting better and just stay consistent with the message to the guys, enjoy it, but we’ve shown we can improve and build off of losses, and now we have to show that we can build off of wins,” head coach Jerome Tang said.
The Wildcats (8-11, 2-6) got off to a fast start and never looked back, leading by double-digits for the entirety of the second half. Junior guard Dug McDaniel led a group of five who scored in double-figures, tallying a statline of 15 points and five assists. David N’Guessan scored 14, followed by Max Jones with 12, Coleman Hawkins with 11 and CJ Jones with 10.
“That’s what makes you hard to guard when everyone [scores],” Tang said. “I mean we were sharing the ball, that was huge. And then every guy that played except one got a rebound, It wasn’t just the scoring, it was people being involved.”
Despite the Wildcats’ previous struggles, with students returning from winter break this week, Bramlage saw a sizeable crowd of 9,018.
“So thankful to the students. Man, I walked out and I saw them, and man, my joy tank was full,” Tang said. “They really provided great energy for us and allowed us to get off to a great start.”
K-State pounced on the Mountaineers from the jump and didn’t look back in the first half. A 19-2 start over the first eight minutes grew into a 31-14 advantage before the final minutes of the first half. After that point, K-State put together another run of 11-2 to lead 42-18 at the break.
“Man, we were locked in. Guys were in attack mode,” Tang said. “I thought we got to the paint. I thought defensively, we were locked in. And made it difficult for them.”
In the first half, K-State shot over 50% with a 16-30 mark on field goals, including 5-9 from a long distance, while WVU carded 7-29 (24%). K-State out-rebounded the Mountaineers 21-16, with a half-high five rebounds from Ugonna Onyenso.
McDaniel led the K-State offense to its explosion, tallying 11 points and five assists. Brendan Hausen connected for a pair of triples in the frame.
West Virginia grabbed slight momentum back out of the break, doubling up K-State 18-9 over the first eight minutes of action. However, K-State refused to let its lead slip unlike previous matchups in conference, and shut down WVU down the stretch.
While K-State felt the relief of having its overall losing streak snapped, what still lingers is a 15-game road losing streak.
“There’s definitely a weight lifted. Man, losing sucks,” Tang said. “But what’s really important now is, ‘Can we keep getting better after a win, can we go on the road and get one?’ There’s a lot of room for improvement for us.”
Before K-State hits the road again, it’ll host Oklahoma State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. who bested the Wildcats in Stillwater earlier this season.
“But I’m excited to see what happens on Monday [at practice],” Tang said. “…I’m going to be on one on Monday, because I’m not going to let them be satisfied.”
