Kansas State basketball opens season with 89-65 win over New Orleans
The Kansas State Wildcats started their highly anticipated 2024-25 campaign with a big win on Tuesday, downing the New Orleans Privateers 89-65.
New Orleans was the aggressor early in the game, leading by as many as 10 points midway through the opening 20 minutes. But after the Privateers reached their biggest lead, the Wildcats quickly turned things around, commandeering the advantage and going up by 12 points at halftime.
From there, it was all K-State. The Wildcats led by double digits the entire second half.
It was a career night for senior forward David N’Guessan, who posted the second-best scoring and rebounding totals of his career in the win. He racked up 21 points and 15 rebounds in the victory, leading all players in both categories.
He was one of three Wildcats to score in double figures, joining senior guard Max Jones and junior guard Brendan Hausen, who scored 19 and 17 points, respectively. Those two were also playing their first game with K-State after transferring in over the summer. Other notable transfer performances in the win included five points and nine rebounds from senior forward Coleman Hawkins, and six points with eight assists off the bench from junior Dug McDaniel.
As a team, the Wildcats shot 46.6% from the floor and 38.2% from three-point range. The Privateers shot just 39.1% overall for the game, although they did post a better shooting clip from beyond the arc, 45%. Sophomore guard Jah Short led New Orleans in scoring Tuesday night with 19 points in the losing effort.
K-State will be back in action on Saturday afternoon when it hosts the Cleveland State Vikings. That game is set for a 3:00 tipoff. The Wildcats will play their next three games in Manhattan before opening the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands against the George Washington Revolutionaries on Nov. 22.
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