QUEENS, N.Y. (KStateSports.com) – An 18-5 run to open the second half helped St. John’s seize the momentum en route to an 88-71 win over Kansas State in the sixth and final Big 12/BIG EAST Battle on Saturday morning before a sold-out crowd of 5,602 fans at Carnesecca Arena.
Junior Brendan Hausen led three Wildcats in double figures with a career-high 27 points, while seniors David N’Guessan and Coleman Hawkins added 15 and 11 points, respectively. Hawkins narrowly missed a double-double with a team-high 9 rebounds to go with a game-best 4 steals.
K-State (6-3) led by as many as 10 points in the first half, in which, the Wildcats got 21 points from Hausen, including 6 made 3-pointers. The 21 first-half points tied for the sixth-most in a first half in school history, as the junior became the 21st player to have 20 or more points in an opening half.
The momentum swung to the side of St. John’s (7-2) after halftime. After a basket by Hawkins pushed the lead to 41-35 to open the second half, the home team scored 18 of the next 21 points to go ahead 53-44 and force a timeout by head coach Jerome Tang at the 15:13 mark.
The Wildcats got to within 12 points twice down the stretch, including 76-64 after a pair of free throws by junior Dug McDaniel with 4:02 remaining, but that would be the closest they would get. The Red Storm answered with an old-fashioned 3-point play, as they surged ahead by as many as 19 points in the waning minutes to cap an impressive second-half performance.
Junior Zuby Ejiofor scored 17 of his game-high 28 points in the second half, as St. John’s tallied 53 points after halftime on 52.8 percent (19-of-36) shooting with 28 points in the paint. Three other Johnnies scored in double figures, including 13 points from graduate Kadary Richmond and 11 points each from junior R.J. Luis Jr. and sophomore Simeon Wilcher.
For the game, the Wildcats connected on a season-low 35.2 percent (25-of-71) from the field, including 32 percent (8-of-25) from 3-point range, while making 13-of-20 attempts from the line.
Hausen scored his career-high 27 points on 9-of-17 field goals, including 6-of-10 from 3-point range, and 3-of-4 free throws. N’Guessan, who has now scored in double figures in 10 consecutive games, scored his 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting with 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Hawkins had 11 points to go with team-highs in both rebounds (9) and steals (4).
On the strength of its second half shooting, the Red Storm finished the game shooting 42.7 percent (32-of-75) from the field, including 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from 3-point range, while going a near perfect (16-of-17) from the free throw line.
In pregame ceremonies, St. John’s honored its legendary head coach Lou Carnesecca, who passed away at the age of 99 earlier in the week. Both head coaches wore sweaters to commemorate the affable Carnesecca, who never had a losing season in 24 seasons.
K-State will take a break for semester exams next week before resuming play on Tuesday, Dec. 17 when the Wildcats play host to unbeaten Drake (8-0) at 7 p.m., CT in the Wildcat Classic at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. Tickets are on sale through the Athletics Ticket Office by calling (800) 221.CATS or online at www.kstatesports.com/tickets.
HEAD COACH JEROME TANG
On the game…
“I wasn’t able to get a timeout when they were going on their big run to start the second half. This was our first road game and one lesson I haven’t taught our guys yet is when the crowd gets louder you play slower, and we played faster and that allowed them to get going. It was just a lesson we haven’t taught them yet and that’s on me. Once they got that lead, there was never any score pressure after that.”
On the rebounding in the first half vs. the second half…
“I thought we guarded them in the second half, but they kept getting rebounds. We’re going to have to go look at the film and see how we can correct that going forward. In the first half, I thought we competed with them on the boards, but in the second half, we didn’t. They were just more physical, tougher than we were.”
On Brendan Hausen’s first-half performance…
“He was able to get some separation in the first half. There was some good action for him. In the second half, they just sat on top of him. We, as a staff, need to come up with some things to help him in those situations. He was 6-of-8 from 3 in the first half and he attempted just 2 (3-pointers) in the second half and that’s just poor coaching by me.”
On what he told his team in the locker room after the game…
“We are learning something new every game with these guys. I love their competitiveness. There are some areas where we need to improve, and this game exposed some of those weaknesses. We will get back to the gym and keep getting better.”
FIRST HALF
It took nearly 2 minutes for either team to score before senior Coleman Hawkins’ layup went down at the 18:03 mark. Junior Brendan Hausen connected on his first 3-pointer for a 5-0 lead before St. John’s recorded its first basket with 17:23 on the clock. The lead stood at 9-5 after a Hausen jumper and a layup by senior David N’Guessan at the first media timeout.
A 7-2 run capped by a dunk from N’Guessan pushed the Wildcats ahead at 16-7 and forced a timeout by head coach Rick Pitino. The timeout seemed to spark the Red Storm, as they scored 8 straight points as part of a 12-1 run to take their first lead at 19-17.
Three consecutive 3-pointers, including back-to-back treys from Hausen, started a 14-2 K-State run that pushed the Wildcats out to a 31-21 lead and forced another Pitino timeout at the 5:35 mark. But just like before, the Red Storm responded to the timeout, scoring 8 straight points as part of a 12-3 run to pull within 34-33.
A sixth 3-pointer by Hausen and layup by N’Guessan provided some separation at halftime, as the Wildcats led 39-35. Hausen led all scorers with 21 points, becoming the 21st player in school history to have 20 or more points in a first half in school history.
SECOND HALF
St. John’s quickly erased the halftime deficit moments into the second half, scoring 6 in a row as part of an 18-5 run that gave the Red Storm a 53-44 lead and forced head coach Jerome Tang to call a timeout at the 15:13 mark.
A 6-2 run pulled the Wildcats to within 55-50 but the Red Storm converted on back-to-back possession to go ahead 59-50 right before the media timeout with 11:29 remaining. They continued to build from there, using a 13-5 run to push ahead 72-55 right before the third media timeout.
The running layup by junior Dug McDaniel and a pair of free throws got K-State to within 76-64, but St. John’s answered with an old-fashioned 3-point play to go ahead 79-64 right after the final media timeout with 3:55 to play. The 3-point play sparked a 12-7 run to end the game.
The Johnnies scored its 53 second-half points on 52.8 percent (19-of-36) shooting, including 28 points in the paint. Junior Zuby Ejiofor led all scorers with 17 points.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- St. John’s now leads the series, 2-1, in this, the first meeting since 1965.
- K-State is now 1-4 all-time in the Big 12/BIG EAST Battle series, including 0-3 on the road.
- K-State is now 187-59 in non-conference play since 2006-07.
- 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 for the seventh time this season… Hausen, M. Jones, Hawkins and N’Guessan have now started the first 9 games.
- Hawkins now has 91 career starts (Illinois/K-State), M. Jones now has 90 career starts (Tampa/Cal State Fullerton/K-State), C. Jones now has 58 career starts (UIC/K-State) and N’Guessan now has 48 career starts (all at K-State).
- All 9 of Hausen’s career starts have come at K-State.
TEAM NOTES
- K-State scored its 71 points on a season-low 35.2 percent (25-of-71) from the field, including 32 percent (8-of-25) from 3-point range, while making 65 percent (13-of-20) from the free throw line.
- K-State had a season-low 10 assists on 25 made field goals.
- K-State managed single-digit turnovers (8) for third time this season.
- St. John’s out-rebounded K-State, 51-40, including 15 offensive and 36 defensive boards.
- St. John’s held the advantage in specialty stats, outscoring K-State 44-32 in the paint, 11-6 off turnovers, 15-12 in second-chance opportunities and 25-11 off the bench.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Three Wildcats scored in double figures led by junior Brendan Hausen’s career-high 27 points… He was joined in double figures by seniors David N’Guessan (15 points) and Coleman Hawkins (11 points).
- Hausen scored his career-high 27 points on 9-of-17 field goals, including 6-of-10 from 3-point range, and 3-of-4 free throws to go with 4 rebounds in 37 minutes… It marked his second 20-point scoring game and his first since scoring 22 vs. Cleveland State (11/9/24)… He now has 19 career double-digit scoring games, including 7 this season…
- Hausen scored his 21 first-half points on 7-of-11 field goals, including 6-of-8 from 3-point range… He is the 21st player in school history to have 20 or more points in a first half.
- Hausen now has at least 2 triples in all 9 games played this season.
- N’Guessan now has 34 career double-digit scoring games, including 23 at K-State, after his 15-point performance on 6-of-10 field goals… He has scored in double figures in 10 consecutive games dating back to last season.
- Hawkins now has 49 career double-digit scoring games, including 4 at K-State, after his 11-point effort on 4-of-12 field goals and 3-of-4 free throws… He also added a team-high 9 rebounds to go with a season-high 4 steals.
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