MANHATTAN, Kan. – A 19-1 run over the final 6:08 of the first half proved to be the difference in the game for K-State as the Wildcats cruised to a 67-54 over Gardner-Webb in front of 11,602 fans in Bramlage Coliseum on Wednesday night.

 

The win was K-State’s sixth straight and moved its record to 11-1, marking the Wildcats’ best start to a season since an 11-1 record to begin the 2011-12 season and also marking their longest winning streak since winning 10-straight games from Nov. 24, 2013 to Jan. 7, 2014. K-State’s 8-0 start at home marks the second straight season of going unbeaten in non-conference home games.

 

Down 23-22, K-State turned up the defensive intensity in the closing minutes of the first half, holding Gardner-Webb scoreless for the final 7:02 of play. The Wildcats were 5-of-6 from the field during that span and were 8-of-10 from the free throw line to build a 41-24 lead at the break.

 

Offensively, the Wildcats connected on a season-low 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the field for the game, while knocking down 73.9 percent (17-of-23) from the charity stripe. The sub-50 percent outing marked the first time this season that K-State has failed to shoot 50 percent from the field in at least one half of play in a game.

 

On the defensive end, K-State padded its stout numbers, holding Gardner-Webb to 24 points below its season scoring average and just 37.7 percent shooting (20-of-53). The 54 points allowed marked the sixth time this season the Wildcats have held an opponent to 55 points or fewer, while it was the ninth time in 12 games that K-State has limited an opponent to 40 percent or less shooting from the field.

 

Two Wildcats scored in double figures as sophomore guard Kamau Stokes had a game-high 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting and added 4 assists, while senior forward D.J. Johnson finished with 16 points on an 8-of-8 shooting and pulled down 7 rebounds. Johnson’s perfect night from the field marked the 10^th time in K-State history that a player has shot 8-of-8 or better from the field, while he was the first Wildcat to accomplish the feat since Luis Colon was 9-of-9 against Southern Miss on Dec. 11, 2008.

 

Gardner-Webb was paced by Jamaal Robateau’s 17 points that included five 3-pointers.

 

The Basics

• Final Score: Kansas State 67, Gardner-Webb 54
• Records: Kansas State 11-1, 0-0 Big 12 // Gardner-Webb 7-6, 0-0 Big South
• Attendance: 11,602
• Next Game: Friday, Dec. 30 // vs. Texas // 7 p.m. CT // ESPNews

 

The Short Story

• K-State capitalized on a 19-1 run over the final seven minutes of the first half against Gardner-Webb to drop the Runnin’ Bulldogs 67-54 on Wednesday night.
• The win pushed K-State to 11-1, the team’s best start since going 11-1 to begin the 2011-12 season.
• K-State connected on a season-low 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the field for the game, while knocking down 73.9 percent (17-of-23) from the charity stripe.
• Two Wildcats — Kamau Stokes and D.J. Johnson — scored in double figures, as Stokes had a game-high 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting and pitched in 4 assists.
• Johnson scored 16 points on 8-of-8 shooting, while also hauling down 7 rebounds. Johnson’s perfect night from the field marked the 10^th time in K-State history that a player has shot 8-of-8 or better from the field,
• Defensively, the Wildcats held its sixth opponent to 55 points or less this season, while the Runnin’ Bulldogs became the ninth foe to shoot 40 percent or less from the field.

 

How It Happened | First Half

• K-State jumped out to an early 10-5 advantage just five minutes into the game behind eight points in the paint from Johnson.
• Gardner-Webb answered with a pair of 3-pointers as part of a 12-5 run to take a 17-15 lead with 10:03 to play in the half.
• Two more buckets from Johnson helped K-State regain the lead, 22-21, before the Runnin’ Bulldogs went up 23-22 at the under-8 media break.
• A Barry Brown 1-and-1 capped a 19-1 K-State run to end the half, as the Wildcats held Gardner-Webb without a field goal (0-of-11) over the final 7:02 of the half to take a 41-24 advantage into the break.
• K-State connected on 44.8 percent (13-of-29) in the first half, including 81.3 percent (13-of-16) from the charity stripe, while Gardner-Webb shot 35.7 percent (10-of-28).
• Stokes and Johnson paced all scorers in the half with 12 points as Johnson was a 6-of-6 from the field.

 

How It Happened | Second Half

• Gardner Webb opened the second half with three triples to begin an 11-4 run that closed the gap, 45-35, at the first media timeout of the second half.
• Neither team scored over the next three minutes before a coast-to-coast lay-in from Stokes followed by a 30-foot alley-oop slam from Stokes to Xavier Sneed put the Wildcats up 14 at the under-12 media.
• A smooth mid-range jumper from Stokes at the 6:12 mark gave K-State its largest lead of the game, 60-41.
• The Runnin’ Bulldogs slimmed the margin below 15 points in the waning seconds as K-State won its non-conference finale, 67-54.
• K-State connected on 41.7 percent (10-of-24) after intermission while Gardner-Webb shot 40.0 percent (10-of-25), including 5-of-8 from deep.
• Stokes scored 6 in the second half to finish with a game-high 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Johnson closed out the game with 16 points and 7 rebounds.

Beyond the Boxscore

• K-State now leads the all-time series against Gardner-Webb, 4-0, and is now 9-1 all-time against teams from the Big South Conference.
• With the win, the Wildcats are now on their longest winning streak since winning 10-straight games from Nov. 24, 2013 to Jan. 7, 2014.
• K-State has now won 15 consecutive non-conference home games at Bramlage Coliseum and 17 consecutive as the home team dating back to 2014.
• For a second straight year, K-State posted undefeated non-conference home records (9-0 in 2015-16, 10-0 in 2016-17).
• Johnson scored in double figures (16) for the second-straight game and the seventh time this season.

 

Quotable

• “It was not as pretty as we would have liked it to have been. A lot of that is when you make shots, it looks a lot nicer,” said head coach Bruce Weber. “Through these first 12 games, we have made shots up until tonight. I thought we ran some good offense in the first half. Maybe it was mentally not being there with Christmas coming and they are ready to go home. We guarded the heck out of them and I thought they were bothered by the double team.”

 

Up Next

• K-State will have a nine-day layoff before opening Big 12 play at 7 p.m., CT on Friday, December 30 against Texas (6-5) at Bramlage Coliseum and will be broadcast nationally on ESPNews. Tickets are available starting at $30 with the Holiday Mini Plan by calling the K-State Athletic Ticket Office at (800) 221.CATS or online at www.kstatesports.com/tickets. The ticket package also includes the women’s basketball Big 12 home opener against West Virginia on Sunday, January 1 and an exclusive K-State stocking cap.

 

—www.kstatesports.com—

 
TOM GILBERT
Associate Director for Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics