MANHATTAN — Kansas State got behind some early hot three-point shooting and held off the University of Missouri Kansas City in the second half to take a 69-53 win on Thursday evening in Manhattan.
The Wildcats improved to 3-0 on the season for the first time since 2019. Kansas State is also 20-1 all-time against UMKC and have won the past six matchups.
Keyontae Johnson was active early for the Wildcats after scoring the first eight points which helped take an 8-2 lead five minutes into regulation. Johnson’s scoring was highlighted by a slam dunk alley-oop for the first points of the night as well as a corner three.
Kansas State found their stroke early as Cam Carter, Markquis Nowell and Johnson knocked down three-pointers through the opening 10 minutes.
“In the first half I thought when they were in the zone we got pretty good shots. Cam Carter did a great job, Keyontae did a good job of making shots,” said Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang. “I feel like we’ve brought in multiple guys who at any point in time can score double figures. It’s important to have a balanced team.”
UMKC cut the lead to five a few times including when Anderson Kopp knocked down a two-point jumper eight minutes into the game. Roo Shemari Allen then went up for a layup halfway through the opening half to cut the Kansas State deficit to 16-11.
Markquis Nowell helped pull Kansas State ahead by double digits with a pair of free throws with six minutes left in the first half, 24-13.
Carter then hit a pair of three-pointers with less than six minutes left before halftime. The Donaldsonville, Louisiana native went four-of-seven from three-point land in the first half. Johnson then tacked on another three-pointer.
“Cam worked really hard. He is relentless in the gym. He knew he had to improve his shooting and it’s a joy knowing he’s being rewarded for all his work,” said Tang. “It was great, I was disappointed he didn’t get another catch-and-shoot three attempt in the second half.”
Kansas State led UMKC at halftime, 41-25.
The Wildcats began the second half by taking a 20-point advantage after a Johnson dunk in transition, 47-27. Nae’Qwaun Tomlin also went up for a layup and dunk.
UMKC began to cut into their deficit midway through the second half beginning with an Allen David Mukeba layup which was followed by a pair of Allen free throws, making it a 16-point game, 52-36.
The closest the Roos would get the rest of the night was 10 points with five minutes remaining after an Allen free throw made it a 57-47 ballgame.
“Even when we were up I didn’t think we had great energy,” Tang said. “I thought we allowed them to run their offense, not what we’re used to. It took away our ability to wear them down on the offensive end to play with pace and that really slowed the game down in the second half. In the second half you’ve got to give them credit for what they did on their end.”
A pair of layups from Desi Sills and Johnson with three minutes left stretched Kansas State’s lead back to 14 points, 65-51. Sills then finished with a pair of layups with a minute left to seal the 16-point victory, 69-53.
Johnson led Kansas State’s scoring with a season-high 19 points, followed by Carter’s career-high 16 points and Sills’s 11 points off the bench as the trio of Wildcats to finish in double digits. Tomlin and Nowell also chipped in nine points apiece.
