MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State scorched the nets in building as much as a 25-point lead before holding off a late charge from a hot-shooting California squad in a 99-96 win on Thursday night before 7,521 fans at Bramlage Coliseum.
The win gave K-State a 3-0 start to a season for the first time since 2022-23.
The 195 points are the most combined points in Bramlage Coliseum history, surpassing the 194 scored between K-State and Marshall on Dec. 2, 1995. The Wildcats have now scored 90 or more points in each of the first 3 games for the first time since 1991-92. The 290 points scored through the first 3 games are the most since that Dana Altman-led team scored 308 nearly 34 years ago.
Four Wildcats scored in double figures, including three 20-point scorers in junior P.J. Haggerty (23 points), senior Khamari McGriff (21 points) and junior Nate Johnson (20 points). It marked the first time three Wildcats each had 20 points in a game since the trio of Dean Wade (34 points), Kamau Stokes (23 points) and Barry Brown Jr. (21 points) did it against Iowa State on Dec. 29, 2017.
Freshman David Castillo chipped in 16 points off the bench on 6-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
K-State posted the highest field goal percentage of the Jerome Tang era for the second straight game, as the Wildcats connected on 64.4 percent (38-of-59) from the field, including 50 percent (9-of-18) from 3-point range. It was the highest field goal percentage since hitting on 66.0 percent against Wake Forest in the First Four on March 14, 2017.
The Wildcats shot better than 60 percent from the field in each half for just the 10th time in school history and the first time since the game with the Demon Deacons in 2017.
A 13-0 run by K-State early in the first half broke open a back-and-forth contest, as the Wildcats built a 20-point lead with 7:43 to play on a 3-pointer by Haggerty then increased it to 25 points on two occasions, including 53-28 with 3:01 before halftime. The lead stood at 55-34 at break, as the squad shot 67.6 percent (23-of-34) from the field, including 34 points in the paint.
Despite several runs by Cal, including an 8-2 spurt to open the second half, K-State maintained as much as 21-point lead (77-56) after a 3-pointer by Castillo near the midway point of the second half. However, the Golden Bears caught fire from the field, slowly chipping away at the lead before back-to-back baskets closed the deficit to 86-73 with 5:37 to play.
The lead stood at 98-85 after a 3-point play by McGriff with 2:03 remaining but Cal kept up the fight, as former Wildcat Dai Dai Ames started a 7-0 run with a layup to pull the Bears to within 98-92 with 38 seconds. After a free throw by Haggerty, freshman T.T. Carr scored on a dunk with 8 seconds left before a layup at the buzzer finished off the scoring a 99-96.
Cal matched K-State's field goal percentage in the first half by making 23 of 34 attempts in the second half, including 12 of 19 attempts from 3-point range. The Golden Bears finished the night at 56.5 percent (35-of-62) from the field, including 53.6 percent (15-of-28) from beyond the arc.
Four Bears scored in double figures led by a pair of 20-point scorers in senior Chris Bell (27 points) and Ames (25 points) who combined for 52 points, including 39 in the second half. Sophomore Justin Pippen and senior Lee Dort posted 14 and 10 points, respectively.
KEY PLAYER(S):
Three Wildcats each recorded 20-point games for the first time since 2017, as Haggerty, McGriff and Johnson combined to score 64 of the team's 99 points on 24-of-34 shooting. Haggerty and McGriff had 10 points each in the first half, while Johnson scored 12 of his 20 after halftime.
Freshman David Castillo scored 13 of his 16 points in the first half, as he connected on 4-of-6 field goals, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
KEY MOMENT(S):
K-State took control of the game with a 13-0 run in the first half, as the Wildcats built as much as a 25-point lead en route to a 55-34 lead at the break.
In the second half, the Golden Bears nearly erased the big deficit by connecting on 67.6 percent (23-of-34) from the field, including 63.2 percent (12-of-19) from 3-point range.
KEY STATS:
The 62.3 field goal percentage against Bellarmine on Nov. 8 lasted just one game as the highest of the Jerome Tang era, as the Wildcats connected on 64.4 percent (38-of-59) against Cal, including 60 percent or better in each half for the first time since the First Four vs. Wake Forest in 2017.The Wildcats scored 56 points in the paint, which tied the school record for the third time. It was originally set in 2010 against South Dakota and then again in 2023 against Miami.
FIRST HALF:
The teams traded the lead in the early moments before a 3-pointer from sophomore David Castillo sparked an 8-0 run that gave K-State a 13-9 lead and forced a timeout by Cal head coach Mark Madsen at the 14:27 mark. The run grew to 13-0 after a dunk by junior Mobi Ikegwuruka and a 3-pointer from junior Abdi Bashir Jr. that increased the lead to 18-9.The Golden Bears closed to within 22-16 on a pair of free throws before back-to-back 3-pointers from Castillo sparked an 11-3 run that increased the lead to 33-19. After a Cal free throw, freshman Andrej Kostic had consecutive baskets to push it to 37-20 and forced another timeout at the 8:13 mark. The lead grew to 40-20 out of the timeout on a 3-pointer by junior P.J. Haggerty.
A Haggerty layup increased the lead to its largest at 25 points (53-28) with 3:01 before halftime. A mini 6-0 run by the Bears closed the gap to 53-34 but senior Khamari McGriff finished off the half with a layup for a 55-34 lead at the break.
K-State connected on 67.6 percent (23-of-34) from the field in the first half, including 75 percent (6-of-8) from 3-point range. Castillo led three Wildcats in double figures with 11 points while Haggerty and McGriff each tallied 10 points.
SECOND HALF:
A quick 8-2 run out of halftime pulled Cal to within 57-42, however, a Haggerty layup sparked an 9-0 answer by K-State and a timeout by Madsen at the 15:43 mark with the lead standing at 66-42. Out of the timeout, the Bears scored 10 of the next 14 to pull within 70-52. Baskets by Castillo and McGriff pushed the lead to 74-54 at the media timeout with 10:53 remaining.
Cal wouldn't go away as former Wildcat Dai Dai Ames got hot from 3-point range, as the Bears closed to within 77-64. However, a 5-0 spurt by Johnson gave the Wildcats some momentum, as K-State went ahead 82-67 at the media timeout with 7:24 to play.
The teams nearly matched each other down the stretch, as Cal continued its hot shooting from 3-point range to pull within 92-79 at the final media timeout with 3:51 to play. The Bears continued to press, closing to within single digits at 98-89 with 1:17 remaining and 98-92 with 38 seconds to play. Following a free throw from Haggerty, the Bears ended the game with 4 straight points.
WHAT'S NEXT:
K-State concludes its 4-game homestand on Monday when the Wildcats play host to Tulsa (3-0) at Bramlage Coliseum. Tip is set for 7 p.m., CT and will air on ESPN+ as well as the K-State Sports Network.