MANHATTAN, Kan. – Junior Brendan Hausen led four Wildcats in double figures with a game-high 15 points, as Kansas State ran its home exhibition winning streak to 30 games with a 70-56 win over Division II Fort Hays State on Tuesday night before 9,526 fans at Bramlage Coliseum.
Hausen was joined in double figures by senior Coleman Hawkins (13 points), sophomore Macaleab Rich (11 points) and senior David N’Guessan (10 points). N’Guessan had a near double-double with a game-high 9 rebounds.
K-State led from start to finish despite a spirited effort from Fort Hays State, which is coming off a 23-win campaign and was recently ranked No. 16 in the preseason NCAA Division II Coaches poll. The Wildcats led by as many as 20 points early in the second half before the Tigers cut the lead in half with 8:24 to play, prompting a timeout by head coach Jerome Tang.
An 8-2 spurt capped by a 3-pointer from Hawkins pushed the lead back out to 60-44 with less than 6 minutes to play and the lead never dipped below 12 points the rest of the way. Hawkins was stellar all-around in his first action as a Wildcat, adding a team-high 6 assists, 7 rebounds and 2 steals to go with his 13 points in nearly 32 minutes of action.
K-State scored its 70 points on 41.1 percent (23-of-56) shooting, including 28.6 percent (8-of-28) from 3-point range, and 72.7 percent (16-of-22) from the free throw line. The team had 18 assists on 23 made field goals and posted a 42-34 advantage on the glass, including 14 offensive boards.
Defensively, the Wildcats held the Tigers to 36.9 percent (24-of-65) shooting, including 25.7 percent (9-of-35) in the first half.
In addition to the four double-digit scorers, the squad got a big boost from junior C.J. Jones, who finished the night with 9 points on 4-of-6 shooting to go with 5 rebounds and 2 steals.
K-State is now 75-21 all-time in exhibition play, including a 58-9 mark at home. It was the fifth straight such win over FHSU, following victories in 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2017.
Hausen stalked the Wildcats to a 7-0 lead after knocking down his first two 3-point attempts, as they built as much as a 14-point lead in the first half. He duplicated the feat to start the second half, canning his first two 3-pointers to ignite an 8-0 run and push the lead to 42-22 with 17 minutes to play. However, the Tigers wouldn’t go away, as they used an 18-8 run over the next 8 minutes to cut the deficit to 52-42.
Rich, who earned additional playing time with senior Max Jones out due to injury, was another bright spot down the stretch, scoring 4 of his 11 points in the last 8 minutes. He finished the night 5-of-7 from the field to go with 4 rebounds in nearly 20 minutes of action.
Fort Hays State was led by 9 points each from graduate Kaleb Hammeke and sophomore Kyle Grill.
K-State officially opens the 2024-25 season on Tuesday, Nov. 4 when the Wildcats welcome New Orleans to Bramlage Coliseum for 7 p.m., CT tip. Tickets are available by calling the K-State Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 221.CATS or online at kstatesports.com/tickets.
HEAD COACH JEROME TANG
Opening statement…
“First of all, I lost a friend this past week, [South Florida’s head coach] Amir Abdur-Rahim. 43 years old, young guy, got a wife and three kids, and that team still had to take the court, or is getting ready to take the court the next day or so. It’s just a tough time. In this coaching circle, there are not a lot of guys who have no enemies, and he had none. The man poured into his guys and loved people. The thing that he always said is love wins. So, it was just hard on me, hard on our staff and a moment like this allows you to be so thankful for life, health, and strength. So, I would just like Amir’s family to know that we are praying for them, we’re always here for them and we’ll support them in any way that we can.”
On Brendan Hausen’s three-point volume…
“I say this all of the time, like, coaches want guys to shoot 40% from three, but they can’t live with the six misses, right? He was two for nine in the first half, but he was two for five in the second half. I think he’s a two-for-five shooter. He did a better job of being on balance [in the second half], like he hit his first two, and then he didn’t fight for his feet anymore. He just felt it was going to be his night and it was going to go in, so what he has to do is make sure that he is focused and concentrated. When he’s concentrated, using the right mechanics, and fighting for his feet so he’s on balance, he’s a 40-plus percent three-point shooter.”
On Max Jones’ injury status…
“He had a little toe injury. It’s not anything serious, but it wasn’t worth it to risk. It was better to let him rest.”
On lineup experimentation…
“Not having Max out there today kind of messed up the rotation of what we wanted to do. It forced us to maybe do some things that we wouldn’t have done or hadn’t done yet. But, I think every dude on the roster, if you put them on the floor, they’ll provide something positive. So everyone has to be ready.”
On Dug McDaniel & C.J. Jones’ role
“Dug’s a talent and he’s learning how to be a point guard and lead. There’s so much more to being a point guard than just dribbling and passing, but like running the team, and he’s embracing that. I think he still allows the ball going in the hole to affect him on the other end and in other things. But, he’s a talent, he’s going to be a major part of us being successful this year. [C.J.] it’s not that [he] started in [Dug’s] place, C.J. started. He’s been our best point guard. He has an incredible assist-to-turnover ratio in practice, and you saw it today. He gets guys shots, defends the ball, rebounds, and makes the right play. So, C.J. earned where he’s at.”
TEAM NOTES
- Four Wildcats scored in double figures, as K-State won its lone exhibition game of the 2024-25 season with a 70-56 win over Division II foe Fort Hays State.
- With the win, K-State extended its winning streak in home exhibition games to 30.
- K-State is now 75-21 all-time in exhibition play, including 58-9 at home and 52-9 at Bramlage Coliseum.
- Junior Brendan Hausen led all scorers with 15 points, connecting on 5-of-14 from 3-point range, in 21 minutes.
- Senior Coleman Hawkins had a strong all-around game with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals in 32 minutes.
- Senior David N’Guessan had a near double-double with 10 points and a game-high 9 rebounds in 21 minutes.
- Sophomore Macaleab Rich scored 11 points off the bench, connecting on 5-of-7 shots.
- K-State started a lineup of juniors C.J. Jones and Brendan Hausen and seniors Coleman Hawkins, Achor Achor and David N’Guessan.
