Kansas State 84, Omaha 66: Nino Williams scored a season-high 19 points as the Wildcats eventually pulled away from the visiting Mavericks.
Williams shot 8-of-11 from the floor while Marcus Foster added 16 points and seven rebounds for Kansas State (4-3), which was coming off a 70-47 loss to Pittsburgh last Wednesday at the Maui Invitational. Jevon Thomas had 12 points and seven assists for a Wildcats team that held a 43-25 edge in the glass.
CJ Carter scored 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting for Omaha (3-3), which was within eight nearly halfway through the second half. Rylan Murry added 11 points for the Mavericks, who shot 7-of-24 from the arc.
The much-smaller Mavericks trailed by six at the half and hung around after intermission until Williams scored five straight Wildcats baskets - one a 3-pointer - over a three-minute span as the Wildcats pushed a 10-point lead to 69-50 with 7:43 left in the contest. Carter scored a couple of hoops and Devin Patterson drained a 3-pointer to get Omaha back within 14, but Thomas Gipson scored five straight points to seal it.
Omaha scored the first five points of the game, led for most of the first 12 minutes and regained a 28-25 lead with 3 1/2 minutes left in the first half on a jumper and 3-pointer by Carter. The Wildcats got five points from Justin Edwards during a 12-3 closing run that provided a 37-31 edge at the half.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Kansas State had an overwhelming 25-11 advantage on the boards at the break. … Patterson, who entered averaging 16.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.4 steals, had seven points, one rebound, six assists, no steals and seven turnovers. … Foster entered hitting on 18-of-36 from 3-point range and drained 3-of-8 on Tuesday.
Nebraska Omaha | Kansas St. | |
CJ Carter 22 | Scoring | Nino Williams 19 |
Devin Patterson 6 | Assists | Jevon Thomas 7 |
Tre'Shawn Thurman 9 | Rebounds | Marcus Foster 7 |
CJ Carter 2 | Free Throws Made | Thomas Gipson 3 |
Tre'Shawn Thurman 3 | Steals | Justin Edwards 3 |
Tre'Shawn Thurman 3 | Blocks | Thomas Gipson 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Nebraska Omaha | 66 | 43.9 | 7-24 | 9-15 | 15 | 24 | 3 | 8 | 12 |
Kansas St. | 84 | 53.3 | 9-21 | 11-24 | 23 | 42 | 3 | 7 | 13 |