With the season opener around the corner, the Kansas State men’s basketball team goes into next week with more confidence, having a 112-90 win over the Newman Jets at Bramlage Coliseum.
“We try to treat both exhibition games like practices,” K-State head coach Jerome Tang said. “Not necessarily like games, but working on certain things. Mizzou exposed our transition defense and we just gave up too many driving gaps.”
Making tweaks and focusing in throughout practice in preparation for Newman, the Wildcats worked on transition defense and shrinking the floor.
While K-State pushed tempo, the purple and white looked fatigued at times in the middle of the lengthy first half.
“Dudes made some shots,” Tang said. “When I watch film, guys are gonna be in the right position, and I’m okay with that, as long as our positioning is right.”
During the first half, the Jets outshot the Wildcats from 3-point range, 48.6 percent to 37.5 percent. This led to Newman trailing K-State 59-50.
“We adjusted at halftime,” Tang said. “We picked up the pressure and turned it.”
Even though the Jets lingered behind K-State, one Wildcat, P.J. Haggerty, came out ready to shoot and be a weapon. Haggerty had 17 points, 6 assists and 3 rebounds.
“My teammates told me to keep shooting,” Haggerty said. “My first two didn’t go in, and then I got hot. They put me in positions to score, I got the easy job just making my shot. I appreciate them for having confidence in me and uplifting me every time.”
Coming out of halftime, the Wildcats pushed the tempo and tightened their offense. They scored 20 points in the second half, moving the ball in transition and working together to find open looks down the floor.
“We’ve been working on shrinking the floor and not letting people get in the paint,” Abdi Bashir Jr. said. “The one game that we’ve been working on the whole time. Then we got a team that shoots threes, and we just had to adjust.”
While Haggerty took control of the stat board in the first half, it shifted to Bashir Jr. in the second. Bashir Jr. effortlessly made 19 points for 5-9 field goals and 3-7 three-point shots.
“The fans are amazing,” Bashir Jr. said. “I wouldn’t want to play in front of anybody else. It means a lot to wear this jersey and play.”
Haggerty and Bashir Jr. were the top two scores for the night with a combined 52 points. Haggerty also ended the night with 10 rebounds, giving him a double-double. Khamari McGriff and David Castillo both contributed 11 points for the night against the Jets.
“We got things to work on,” Haggerty said. “It’s mainly just communication and gelling together. I feel like once we gel together completely, the defense will take care of itself.”
Despite a few things to work on before the season opener on Tuesday, Nov. 4, Wildcat fans joyfully celebrated the team’s 112-20 victory over Newman by all doing the Wabash Cannonball.
“Overall, everybody’s healthy and so thankful and excited to move forward,” Tang said.
