Kansas State basketball center Ugonna Onyenso on his improvement
Kansas State basketball center Ugonna Onyenso talks about his performance Tuesday against Mississippi Valley State and the upcoming Paradise Jam.
K-State Athletics
Kansas State basketball faces another team with a glossy record Monday when it takes on Longwood in the third-place game of the Paradise Jam Elridge Wilburn Blake Sports & Fitness Center in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
Longwood (6-1) suffered its first loss of the season Sunday, falling 84-69 to McNeese State in the semifinals. K-State’s three opponents — George Washington, Liberty and Longwood — came into the tournament with a combined 13-1 record and took a 15-3 mark into the final round.
With a 67-65 semifinal loss to Liberty, K-State fell to 4-2 on the season with the other loss coming at home against LSU. The Wildcats need to rack up as many nonconference victories as they can ahead of a brutal Big 12 schedule.
Watch Kansas State basketball vs Longwood live on ESPN+
David N’Guessan leads K-State in scoring with 14.3 points per game and is tied with Coleman Hawkins in rebounding at 7.0. Brendan Hausen is the only other Wildcats to average double figures with 13.3 points per game, though Dug McDaniel is close at 9.6 and Max Jones adds 8.8.
Guard KJ McClurg leads a balanced Longwood attack with a 14.3-point average and forward Michael Christmas contributes 10.9 points and 4.1 rebounds. The Lancers shoot just 27% from 3-point range.
K-State trailed by three points in the first half, but caught fire from 3-point range to outscore Longwood 17-9 to close it out. Coleman Hawkins had three 3-pointers in the half and Brendan Hausen two as the Wildcats went 7-for-12 from behind the arc.
K-State and Longwood each had nine turnovers, but the Wildcats turned them into seven points while Longwood got none. Longwood stayed in the game by outscoring K-State 10-1 from the free-throw line.
Hawkins and Hausen have 11 points each for K-State. Johan Nziemi and Kyrell Luc lead Longwood with nine apiece. K-State outrebounded Longwood, 17-14, with Hawkins grabbing five. Hawkins and Dug McDaniel each had three assists.
K-State made seven 3-pointers in the half, most of them down the stretch, to lead 44-36 at the break. Brendan Hausen and Coleman Hawkins each have 11 points.
With 48 seconds left in the half, K-State is 7 of 11 from 3-point range.
Back-to-back threes form Coleman Hawkins and Dug McDaniel stretches K-State’s lead to 43-34, forcing a Longwood timeout with 1:27 left in the half. Wildcats 4 of last 5 shots.
K-State has made its last four shots, including three 3-pointers — two by Coleman Hawkins and one from Brendan Hausen — and now leads Longwood 33-30 with 3:55 left in the half. Hausen leads the Wildcats with 10 points and Hausen has eight.
Longwood leads 25-22 with 7:36 left in the first half on the strength of an 8-3 scoring advantage on fast breaks and 8-0 cushion at the free-throw line.
Both K-State and Longwood look like teams playing their third game in four days as they have combined for 13 turnovers at the 11:39 media timeout. K-State leads 13-11. Max Jones leads all scorers with five points for K-State, but he and CJ Jones both have two fouls.
At the first media timeout, K-State leads 11-8 and Dug McDaniel has a chance to complete a three-point play with 15:52 left in the first half. Both teams shooting better than 60%.
K-State once again will go with Max Jones, Chris Jones, Brendan Hausen, David N’Guessan and Coleman Hawkins to start the game. Look for Dug McClure and Achor Achor to be the first off the bench.
Kyrell Luc, Colby Garland, KJ McClurg, Johan Nzemi and Michael Christmas get the start for Longwood.
K-State and Longwood behind schedule
K-State and Longwood were supposed to get underway at 4:30 p.m., but apparently the fifth-place game went a little long. Tipoff coming up shortly.
In the early Paradise Jam games today, George Washington beat Illinois State for fifth place, 72-64, and UAB handled Louisiana, 98-86, for seventh.
Kansas State vs Longwood game time today
- Date: Monday, Nov. 25
- Time: 4:30 p.m. (CT)
- Location: Elridge Wilburn Blake Sports & Fitness Center, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
What channel is Kansas State vs Longwood game on today?
Kansas State vs Longwood State prediction
Kansas State is still searching for consistency through the first six games but has played better so far since arriving in the Virgin Islands. Longwood’s only loss, to McNeese State in the semifinals, also was its first true test.
Prediction: Kansas State 81, Longwood 70
Kansas State vs Longwood betting odds
Game lines and odds from BetMGM as of Sunday:
- Spread: Kansas State -10.5
- Over/under: 142.5 points
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Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
