MANHATTAN, Kan. (KStateSports.com) – Senior wing David N’Guessan registered his fourth career double-double with a game-high 21 points and 15 rebounds in helping Kansas State to an 89-65 win over New Orleans in the season opener for both teams on Tuesday night (Nov. 5) before 9,155 fans at Bramlage Coliseum.
N’Guessan had a double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds) in the first half before earning his first career 20-point, 10-rebound performance of his college career. His 21 points were two shy of his career-high of 23 against Abilene Christian on Dec. 6, 2022, while his 15 boards were one short of his career-high of 16 against Iowa State in his last game at home on March 9.
N’Guessan was joined in double figures by senior Max Jones (19 points) and junior Brendan Hausen (17 points), who combined for 8 of the Wildcats’ 13 made 3-point field goals on the night. The 13 triples tied for the 10th-most in a game in school history and were the most since knocking down 14 against South Dakota State on Nov. 13, 2023.
Trailing by as many 10 points near the midway point of the first half, the K-State offense exploded for 74 of its 89 points in the last 29 minutes of action. The Wildcats ended the first half on a 29-7 run, flipping a 25-15 deficit with 10:15 to play into a 44-32 halftime advantage.
Hausen (12 points) and Jones (8) combined for 20 of the team’s 29 points during this pivotal run, including 5 by Jones in the last 2 seconds of the half.
K-State’s lead never dropped below 18 points in the second half and grew to as many as 26 after a pair of free throws by junior Dug McDaniel with 5:47 to play. McDaniel dished out a game-high 8 assists to go with 6 points and 2 steals in 23 minutes off the bench in his first career action.
The Wildcats finished the night with 24 assists on 34 made field goals with just 9 turnovers, the fewest in a game since posting just 5 in the win over Michigan State in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
K-State moved to 94-27 all-time season openers, including 82-10 at home and 30-3 at Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcats have now won 19 of their last 22 openers.
New Orleans (0-1), playing its first game under new head coach Stacy Hollowell, saw three players score in double figures led by 19 from sophomore guard Jah Short. He was joined in double figures by senior James White (14 points) and junior Dae Dae Hunter (10 points).
The Privateers shot 39.1 percent (25-of-64) from the field, including 45 percent (9-of-20) from 3-point range, and made 6 of 7 attempts from the free throw line.
K-State continues its four-game homestand on Saturday when the Wildcats play host to Cleveland State (0-1) at 3 p.m., CT at Bramlage Coliseum. Tickets are available by calling the K-State Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 221.CATS or online at kstatesports.com/tickets.
HEAD COACH JEROME TANG
Opening statement…
“It’s a blessing to win. [I was] watching some of those games [last night], and my good buddy [North Florida head coach] Matt Driscoll pulled off a big road win at South Carolina after losing his best player to Tennessee. So it’s hard to win, right? We’re still not at full strength, but it’s a joy to have Max Jones back out there. A lot of you asked me, ‘how’s he gonna handle being a role player?’ And I said, ‘you hadn’t seen him play yet. You don’t know if he’s gonna be a role player or not.’ And the good thing about having weapons is that it can be anybody’s night. And tonight, Max was really good. So was David [N’Guessan].”
On David N’Guessan’s performance…
“I think he paid attention to the scouting report. We felt like we could impact them on the glass offensively, and, man, he did. He set the tone early when we were struggling. We can’t be a team where our defense is dictated by our offense, and right now we get energy from seeing the ball go through the hoop, and we have to correct that. But Dave’s energy and effort allowed us to stay close enough that when we went on a run, we were able to take the lead. And I’m happy for him, because he works really hard, and we have a ton of confidence in him. ”
On the run that the team had at the end of the first half…
“Everybody saw Brendan [Hausen] make the shot, Max [Jones] make the shot. But Dug [McDaniel] had eight [assists] to two turnovers today, and I think every one of their shots was a catch and shoot shot, and that’s what we really work on. So, their teammates were able to get them the ball in a shooting pocket, so they can get them off, and those guys can really shoot the ball.”
On Coleman Hawkins’ impressive performance despite the lack of scoring…
“Coleman is one of the few guys whose energy level is not impacted by scoring, right? Like I’m actually trying to force him to take more shots. I mentioned he was shooting like 57% from three at practice. He just doesn’t take enough. He turned down too many that I felt he could’ve taken. And so it’s great to have a guy out there who’s energy comes from getting his teammates shots, or making little plays that other people don’t see. Whether it’s being in the middle of the press and making the pass that leads to the assist, or setting the screen, or not setting the screen, because he knows that it’ll confuse the defense by slipping out of it. So, his IQ really helps us as a team.”
On having less than 10 turnovers in the game…
“Just see that number. I don’t know the last time we had single digit turnovers, right? The staff did a great job in recruiting. We brought in better ball handlers, decision makers, and it’s great to not have to scheme passes, but instead we can scheme shots.”
On Max Jones’ versatility…
“Well, we see it in practice. Just his impact and the impact in the rotation, right? So, if Max is on the floor, he could be a big two [guard] for us. And now you have a 6-foot-5 point guard in C.J. [Jones], and you have Max at the two, and you have Coleman at the three, and whoever at the four and the five, and you’re really big. And you don’t lose anything in rebounding. Max had three offensive rebounds for us. And when you move him to the three, now you can move Coleman or Achor [Achor] to the four, one of them at the five, and now we have great spacing, and it’s easy for the guards. So Max’s versatility and his skill level allows us to do a lot of things.”
FIRST HALF
UNO enjoyed a hot start to the game, knocking down 4 of its first 7 field goals, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, to take an 11-7 advantage into the first media timeout at the 15:29 mark. The lead continued to grow as the Privateers scored 6 straight to push it out to 17-7 before head coach Jerome Tang called his first timeout with 13:23 before halftime.
The Wildcats cut the lead in half after a basket by junior Ugonna Onyenso and a 3-pointer from senior Max Jones, but the hot shooting continued for the Privateers as they pushed back ahead by 10 at 25-15 near the midway point of the first half.
The offense finally got clicking after a second 3-pointer from Max Jones, as the triple ignited a 13-2 run that gave the Wildcats their first lead at 28-27 with 6:07 to play. The run was capped by consecutive 3-pointers from junior Brendan Hausen.
After UNO briefly regained the lead at 29-28 on the next possession, Hausen was fouled on a 3-pointer and knocked down all 3 to push K-State back ahead at 31-29. Junior C.J. Jones and Hausen connected on back-to-back triples before a layup by sophomore Macaleab Rich gave the Wildcats a 39-31 advantage with 46 seconds. Max Jones finished a strong first half with a 3-pointer from the corner before rebounding his miss on a free throw that gave the home team a 44-32 advantage at the break. In all, the Wildcats finished the first half on a 29-7 run.
Hausen and Max Jones had 12 points each in the first half, while N’Guessan turned his fourth career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
SECOND HALF
K-State extended its lead to 20 points in the early moments of the second half, as Hausen and Max Jones combined to score the Wildcats’ first 10 points and push the lead to 56-36 at the 16:42 mark, prompting a timeout by UNO head coach Stacy Hollowell.
First career buckets for junior Dug McDaniel and freshman David Castillo gave the Wildcats their largest lead at 63-41 right before the media timeout with 11:45 remaining.
The lead stayed at 20 or more points for most of the next few minutes before UNO closed to within 73-55 on a 3-pointer by junior Dae Dae Hunter with less 8 minutes to play. However, K-State responded with 8 straight points to build as much as a 26-point lead (81-55) after a pair of free throws by McDaniel with 5:47 to play.
The lead never dipped below 21 points the rest of the way, as the Wildcats scored 45 points after halftime on 52.8 percent (19-of-36) shooting with 28 points in the paint.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- K-State is now 94-27 all-time in season openers, including an 82-10 mark at home and a 30-3 mark at Bramlage Coliseum.
- K-State has now won 19 of the last 22 season openers.
- K-State is now 30-4 under head coach Jerome Tang at Bramlage Coliseum.
- K-State is now 2-1 under Tang in season openers, including 2-0 when opening at home.
- K-State used a starting lineup of junior C.J. Jones, junior Brendan Hausen, senior Max Jones, senior Coleman Hawkins and senior David N’Guessan… It marked the first career starts at K-State for Hausen, C. Jones, M. Jones and Hawkins.
- N’Guessan earned his 40th career start (all at K-State)… He is the first Wildcat to start 3 consecutive season openers since Mike McGuirl in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
- Hawkins now has 83 career starts (Illinois/K-State), M. Jones now has 82 career starts (Tampa/Cal State Fullerton/K-State) and C. Jones now has 51 career starts (UIC/K-State).
- It was Hausen’s first career start after playing in 66 games at Villanova with no starts.
- Four other Wildcats – junior Ugonna Onyenso, junior Dug McDaniel, freshman David Castillo and sophomore Baye Fall – all saw their first action.
- 11 of the team’s 14 players logged at least 2 minutes.
TEAM NOTES
- K-State scored its 89 points on 46.6 percent (34-of-73) shooting, including 38.2 percent (13-of-34) from 3-point range, and had 24 assists on 34 made field goals.
- K-State’s 13 made field goals tie for the 10th-most in a game in school history and the most since hitting 14 vs. South Dakota State (11/13/23)… Six different players had at least one triple, including 4 each by junior Brendan Hausen and senior Max Jones.
- 10 different players had at least one field goal made, while 7 players had at least one assist.
- The 24 assists came against 9 turnovers… It was the fewest turnovers in a game since posting just 5 in a win over Michigan State at the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
- K-State scored 42 of its 89 points in the paint, while it held advantages in points off turnovers (15-13), second-chance points (22-12), fast-break points (13-10) and bench points (19-12).
- K-State held a 45-35 rebounding margin, including 19 offensive boards which led to the 22 second-chance points.
- K-State scored 45 points in the second half on 52.8 percent (19-of-36) shooting.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Three Wildcats scored in double figures, including a 21-point, 15-rebound performance from senior David N’Guessan… It was his first career 20-point, 10-rebound effort.
- N’Guessan collected his fourth career double-double and his second career 20-point game… It was his most points since scoring a career-high 23 vs. Abilene Christian (12/6/22).
- N’Guessan had 11 points and 11 rebounds in the first half, becoming the first Wildcat since Mark Smith against Ole Miss (1/29/22) to post a double-double in one half.
- N’Guessan scored his 21 points on 10-of-14 field goals, including a pair of dunks.
- N’Guessan was joined in double figures by senior Max Jones (19 points) and junior Brendan Hausen (17 points)… In all, 10 different players scored in the game.
- N’Guessan was the first Wildcat in double figures with 11 points in the first half… It was his 26th career double-digit scoring game, including his 23rd time at K-State.
- Both Hausen and Max Jones finished the first half with 12 points each.
- Max Jones scored his 19 points on 7-of-10 field goals, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, while he added 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals in 26 minutes… He now has 66 career double-digit scoring games.
- Hausen scored his 17 points on 5-of-10 field goals, including 4-of-9 from 3-point range, to go with 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block in 27 minutes… He now has 13 career double-digit scoring games… He had the team’s best +/- at +21.
- Junior Dug McDaniel dished out a team-high 8 assists to go with 6 points and 2 steals in 23 minutes off the bench.
- Senior Coleman Hawkins struggled from the field (5 points on 2-of-9 shooting) but was second on the team with 9 rebounds to go with 5 assists in 32 minutes.
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