The Sports Xchange
Dec 5, 2017
Kansas State blitzed South Carolina-Upstate from the start and cruised to an 86-49 victory Tuesday night at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan.
The Wildcats led by as many 23 on several occasions in the first half and pulled away in the second half.
The Wildcats (8-1) were led by Kamau Stokes with 17 points. Stokes, who had hit 16 of his last 32 attempts from 3-point range, connected on 5 of 7 from behind the arc.
Barry Brown had 15 points for the Wildcats, and Dean Wade added 13 points and seven rebounds.
USC-Upstate (3-8) was led by Malik Moore with 16 points. Carson Smith added 11 points for the Spartans.
The Wildcats, who had been outrebounded in six straight games, owned a 35-25 rebounding advantage. They had allowed an average of 14.0 offensive rebounds in those six games, but held the Spartans to just five.
More than 50 percent (312 of 615) of USC-Upstate's field-goal attempts had come from 3-point range (31.2 attempts per game) coming into the game, and the Spartans weren't bashful on Tuesday night. They took 52 shots, and 24 of them were from long range.
Kansas State has struggled from the field early in the season, but against the Spartans, the long-range shot was there, as the Wildcats connected on 48 percent (12-for-25) from 3-point range.
Kansas State jumped out to a 14-0 lead, on 6 of 6 from the floor, before the first media timeout. USC-Upstate called two timeouts in the first 3:38. The Wildcats led 24-2 with 11:52 remaining in the first half and were never tested.
The first half was nearly flawless for Kansas State, who led 43-23 at intermission. The Wildcats shot 50 percent (15 of 30) from the field, including 8-for-14 from behind the arc. They held the Spartans to just 31 percent (9 of 29), including 5-for-16 from 3-point range.