Kansas State wins exhibition opener 80-42 against Emporia State

It will be a while before anyone knows how good Kansas State’s basketball team truly is, but the Wildcats gave fans reason to hope during a 80-42 exhibition victory against Emporia State on Friday at Bramlage Coliseum.

K-State shredded the Division II Hornets behind 17 points from Wesley Iwundu, 13 points from Justin Edwards, 11 points from Stephen Hurt and solid contributions from newcomers.

The night was particularly encouraging for Iwundu, a junior who has never scored more than 14 points in a regular-season game. He drove to the basket with authority, making 6 of 10 shots and all four of his free-throw attempts. He also grabbed seven rebounds and six assists.

Before K-State’s first practice, coach Bruce Weber said he wanted Iwundu to “stuff the stat sheet” this season. So far, so good.

“I feel like I kind of accomplished some things I set for myself and helped the team be successful,” Iwundu said. “I think it is a good start for the season, and I hope to keep it going.”

Things will get tougher from here, of course. The Wildcats have a week off until their next exhibition game against Fort Hays State. Then they officially open the season against Maryland-Eastern Shore on Nov. 13.

Emporia State, a team filled with Division I transfers still adjusting to each other, may be the worst team K-State faces all year.

Still, the Wildcats took care of business. That wasn’t the easiest of tasks with fouls getting called at a break-neck pace. Officials have promised to emphasize minor and incidental contact more than in previous years, blowing whistles on any hand check and bump.

The officiating crew in Manhattan followed through Friday, calling 47 fouls and awarding 47 free throws. The game lasted two hours and 10 minutes.

That made more choppy play in the first half. Weber described K-State’s offense as stagnant, saying the Wildcats didn’t run the plays they worked on in practice. But it adjusted after the opening moments and pulled ahead 43-17 by halftime.

“We didn’t know what to expect,” Weber said. “Our guys didn’t know. It’s a new team. We have so many new people, but I have said all along if those older guys give us those kind of consistent numbers it is going to ease the pressure on the young guys, and they are going to come along and learn.”

K-State went young with its starting lineup, going with freshman Kamau Stokes at point guard and freshman Dean Wade at power forward along with Iwundu, Edwards and Hurt.

Stokes led all newcomers with three assists and Wade had six points and four rebounds. Freshman guard Barry Brown also looked good off the bench, setting up highlight plays with precise passes.

But it wasn’t all good news for K-State. Weber said freshman forward Isaiah Maurice hasn’t been cleared academically by the NCAA and is unlikely to play this season. Maurice was considered a redshirt candidate, but the Wildcats could have used him for depth inside. Junior forward D.J. Johnson and freshman forward Dante Williams both missed Friday’s game with injuries.

K-State will need their size against Big 12 foes, but they played strong defense against Emporia State, holding the Hornets to 25-percent shooting.

“It was a nice showing,” Weber said. “Now we just have to keep getting better.”

This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 10:14 PM with the headline "Kansas State wins exhibition opener 80-42 against Emporia State."