Takeaways from Kansas State’s basketball win vs. George Washington at Paradise Jam
That’s more like it.
Kansas State basketball fans everywhere were thinking those words as they watched the Wildcats defeat George Washington 83-71 in the first round of the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam on Friday at UVI Sports & Fitness Center in St. Thomas.
The Wildcats played, by far, their best game of the season and gave their supporters hope that they are better than their lackluster play early in the season may have indicated.
David N’Guessan led a balanced scoring attack for K-State with 17 points. He got plenty of help from Dug McDaniel (13 points), Max Jones (12 points), Brendan Hausen (11 points) and Achor Achor (10 points). Eight Wildcats scored in this game.
N’Guessan showed his senior leadership by making five of eight shots from the field and by going seven of 10 from the free-throw line. He also grabbed nine rebounds and sent out three assists without committing a turnover.
This was one of his best games in a K-State uniform.
The Wildcats were at their best in the first half, as they raced to a 46-27 lead. George Washington fought back in the second half and cut the score to as close as four at 59-55.
But Coleman Hawkins stopped the bleeding with a 3-pointer and then Max Jones hit a 3-pointer while being fouled for a big four-point play that permanently swung the momentum back in K-State’s favor.
K-State will next play Liberty at 7 p.m. Sunday in the semifinal round of this competition.
Until then, here are some takeaways from Friday’s action:
Dug McDaniel returned to the court
It’s been an up-and-down season for the Michigan transfer.
Dug McDaniel wasn’t in the starting lineup at the beginning of the year. Then he was promoted to the starting five and scored 16 points in a game against LSU. But K-State suffered a loss in that contest and McDaniel didn’t play a single minute in the team’s next outing against Mississippi Valley State.
Nobody knew what to expect from McDaniel at the Paradise Jam. But it seems as though he has regained the trust of his head coach.
Jerome Tang showed faith in McDaniel on Friday by playing him at point guard for 29 minutes.
McDaniel responded by scoring 13 points and sending out five assists. He gave the Wildcats a boost with his aggressive play and impressive court vision.
The Wildcats would be wise to continue finding ways to get him on the floor. Even though K-State has other solid point guards in CJ Jones and David Castillo, this team clearly has a higher ceiling with McDaniel in command of the backcourt.
K-State played with impressive levels of effort
One of the most frustrating things to come out of K-State’s first four games of the season was a lack of effort.
LSU was able to beat K-State up the court and create fast-break opportunities off missed shots, not turnovers. The Wildcats failed to put away an inferior opponent earlier this week when they were tied with Mississippi Valley State in the second half.
Those were some concerning games for K-State.
This was a big improvement. The Wildcats were the ones playing with more effort in this game.
One stat proved that more than any other. K-State won the rebounding battle 42-28. That was a big improvement for a team that had struggled on the glass in its other games.
Achor Achor had nice moments off the bench
K-State fans haven’t seen much of Achor Achor this season. But that might change in the near future.
Achor Achor, a 6-foot-9 senior forward who spent the past two seasons at Samford, scored 10 points Friday against George Washington.
He wasn’t able to stay on the court for long because he committed four fouls in limited minutes. But he made the most of his time in the game when the officials weren’t blowing their whistles in his direction.
Achor made five of six shots and showed off nice touch around the basket. Perhaps he is ready for a bigger role.