MANHATTAN, Kan. – Junior Nae'Qwan Tomlin led four Wildcats in double figures with a season-high 26 points, as Kansas State concluded its December non-conference schedule with a 73-65 win over a feisty Radford team on Wednesday afternoon before 6,939 fans at Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State (11-1) heads into its 10-game holiday break with a 5-game winning streak, as the Wildcats continued their best start to a season since 2016-17. The 11 non-conference wins are the most since 2017-18 and tied six other teams for the third-most in a single season since 2006-07.
Tomlin, who has now scored in double figures in 5 consecutive games, earned his first career 20-point game as a Wildcat by connecting on 11-of-18 field goals, which included 4 dunks, to go with a 3-pointer and all 3 free throws attempted. He also tied a season-high with 9 rebounds to go with 2 blocks, 1 assist and 1 steal in 33 minutes.
Tomlin was joined in double figures by senior Keyontae Johnson, who shook off a poor shooting night to post 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting, as well as seniors Markquis Nowell and Desi Sills, who each added 10 points. The Wildcats have now had at least four double-digit scorers in each of the last four games.
On the strength of Tomlin's play, K-State took control of the game with a 9-0 run late in the first half then held a double-digit lead for much of the second half before a scrappy Radford (6-7) created some anxious moments for the home team. The Highlanders used a 13-2 run to cut the deficit to 71-65 with less than a minute to play. However, the Wildcats were able to hold off any further rally with a big steal from Sills on a tie-up and a pair of free throws from Johnson for the final margin of victory.
In addition to his scoring, Nowell also dished out a game-high 11 assists to record his 11th career double-double, including his seventh at K-State, and his third of the season. His 7 career double-doubles as a Wildcat extended his school record. He reached 100 assists in just 12 games, which is the fastest such streak in school history.
Johnson also reached a milestone, as the first of his two free throws with 20 seconds remaining gave him 1,000 points for his career. He has now scored in double figures in all 12 games this season.
For the game, K-State connected on 49.2 percent (29-of-59) from the field, including 57.1 percent (24-of-42) from inside the 3-point arc, and hit on 66.7 percent (10-of-15) from the free throw line. The Wildcats scored 42 points in the second half on 59.3 percent (16-of-27) shooting. The team also tallied 46 points in the paint, which marked the third time in 4 games that they have posted 40 or more points in the paint.
Six of Radford's 7 losses have now come by 10 points or less, including 79-69 at Marquette on Nov. 7 and 79-76 at Notre Dame on Nov. 10. The Highlanders shot 40.7 percent (24-of-59) from the field, including 35 percent (7-of-20) from 3-point range, and made 55.6 percent (10-of-18) from the free throw line.
It was the first meeting between K-State and Radford.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Radford started off the game off strong by scoring 8 of the first 11 points before leading 11-6 on a 3-pointer by senior Josiah Jeffers just after the first media timeout. K-State responded with a 14-4 run – capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from senior Desi Sills – to take a 20-15 lead with just over 9 minutes to play.
The Highlanders regained the lead at 23-22 on a 3-pointer by junior Bryan Antoine, but the Wildcats used a 9-0 run to take a 31-23 lead with 1:44 before halftime. Junior Nae'Qwan Tomlin, who had a game-high 11 points in the first half, had 4 points in the run. However, the battle-tested Highlanders, who were playing their fourth straight road game, were able to finish off the first half with 5 straight points to close to within 31-28.
The teams traded the lead in the early going of the second half before K-State used an 11-0 run to take a 45-35 lead and force Radford head coach Darris Nichols to call a timeout at the 14:17 mark. Tomlin was once again key in the run, scoring 7 of the 11 points, including 5 in a row before the timeout.
The Wildcat lead grew to 55-40 with 8:40 remaining after an 8-0 run as senior Keyontae Johnson shook off a rough shooting start to score 6 of the 8 points in the run. A fourth dunk by Tomlin and layup by senior Abayomi Iyiola gave K-State a 63-46 advantage with under 6 minutes to play.
However, the pesky Highlanders wouldn't go away, as they used a 13-2 run to close to within 71-65 with 49 seconds remaining. The Wildcats were able to get a big steal from senior Desi Sills on a tie-up and a pair of free throws from Johnson to finish the game off with a final score of 73-65.
PLAYER(S) OF THE GAME
Junior Nae'Qwan Tomlin tallied a near double-double with a season-best 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting with a season-tying 9 rebounds in 33 minutes. He has now scored in double figures in 5 games.
Senior Markquis Nowell collected his third double-double of the season and the 11th in his career with 10 points and a game-high 11 assists in 36 minutes. He has now dished out double-digit assists in 4 games this season.
STAT OF THE GAME
46 – K-State used its size and athleticism to post 46 of its 73 points in the paint. The Wildcats have now scored 40 or more points in the paint in 5 games this season, including 3 times in the last 4 games.
IN THEIR WORDS
Head coach Jerome Tang
Opening statement...
"Alright, first off, I just want to say I didn't get the tech for saying anything. Alright, so I don't owe any pushups. I got the tech because I was out on the floor and I was out on the floor because I wanted to stop the fast break, which was great. So, we stopped the fast break. So, it wasn't because I said something or anything because my mom is gonna ask me when I get home, she was there and apparently, she was pretty upset I got a technical foul. Man, it's gonna be a Merry Christmas. We told the guys there is a difference between Christmas and a Merry Christmas and that is with a win. We knew this was a really good team. They just don't go away. He's got guards who can make plays. (Head coach) Darris (Nichols) does a great job with them. At halftime, we said fellas, we had all of our keys, defensive field goal percentage was where we wanted. We were out rebounding them both on the offensive and defensive end. And we had five turnovers, so we had all our keys, but you know what that meant that they were really good team, right? And that's like an NCAA Tournament game. Nobody wants to see them in the first round of an NCAA Tournament game. They're really good team. And so, teams like that you have to beat. They are not going to give it to you. I thought in the second half, we came out and did some really good things defensively and were really locked in and I thought we beat them. They didn't lose."
On the maturity level of the team to play this well before the break…
"Yes, you know what was really cool. There was like seven upsets that took place last night and you got to show them because you're telling them all week. I remember (TV analyst) Fran Fraschilla said one time that when he was at New Mexico, they went to play at Arizona. At halftime of the game, he told his team, we're gonna win because Coach (Lute) Olsen's kids went home for Christmas, and they didn't tell him. And so sometimes your team checks out because they're thinking about Christmas and everything that goes along with it. So, we were really on them all week long about don't go home for Christmas until this thing is over. And we got to stay locked in and we were able to show them a lot of examples that took place last night and so I was very, very proud of them. I'll tell you one more thing that I'm super proud of. We had eight guys make the (Big 12 Commissioner's) Honor Roll this first semester and four of them had 4.0s and so I'm so proud of the job that Coach (Marco) Borne has done with academics and (academic counselor) Maryclare (Wheeler) and then I thought Coach (Kevin) Sutton did a great job with the scout for the game today."
On what Nae'Qwan Tomlin has improved most…
"Energy. He's doing more things. Like he's physically capable of doing more on both ends of the floor. And especially defensively, he's getting his hands on a lot of balls. He's blocking shots. He's keeping things alive, offensively, offensive rebounding, and you know, I mean, we always say it takes a junior college kid a semester (to get acclimated). And so, he had a little drop off because I think his energy level dropped off. But he's been really good the last few games."
Junior Nae'Qwan Tomlin
On what he liked best about his performance…
"Just my energy and being aggressive. My teammates always tell me that I play best when my energy is good from tip off and I'm just aggressive."
On how he has developed during the non-conference schedule…
"I have developed a lot from the beginning of the season, like my 3s weren't falling so that was one thing I was working on a lot. I still went 1-of-4 but I'm just trying to get that shooting into the game."
On what he has learned about himself…
"Just energy. Just playing with energy and a lot of effort trying to make plays."
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- K-State's 11-1 start is the best since also opening the 2016-17 season at 11-1.
- The 11 non-conference wins are the most since 2017-18 and tie six other teams for the third-most in a single season since 2006-07… Only the 2009-10 (13 wins), 2008-09 (12 wins) and 2010-11 (12 wins) teams have won more in the stretch.
- Head coach Jerome Tang (11-1) continues the best start by a first-year coach in school history… It also matches the best start by any current first-year Division I coach (Mississippi State's Chris Jans).
- K-State is now 128-14 in home venues in non-conference play since 2006-07, including 118-12 at Bramlage Coliseum… The Wildcats are now 7-0 in home games this season.
- This was the first meeting between K-State and Radford.
- K-State is now 11-1 all-time vs. current members of the Big South, all played at home.
- K-State used a starting lineup of fifth-year senior Markquis Nowell, sophomore Cam Carter, fifth-year senior Keyontae Johnson, junior Nae'Qwan Tomlin and junior David N'Guessan… It marked the 11th time in 12 games using this lineup.
- Nowell made his 33rd start at K-State, while Carter, Johnson and Tomlin all made their 12th starts in Wildcat uniforms and N'Guessan his 11th… It was Johnson's 67th start in college (other 55 at Florida), the 16th for Carter (other 4 at Mississippi State), 11th by N'Guessan (all at K-State), while Tomlin made his 12th Division I start (all at K-State).
Team Notes
- K-State scored its 73 points on 49.2 percent shooting (29-of-59), including 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from 3-point range, and connected on 66.7 percent (10-of-15) from the free throw line.
- The Wildcats connected on 57.1 percent (24-of-42) from inside the 3-point arc.
- K-State scored 46 points in the paint… The team has now scored 40 or more points in the paint in 5 games, including 3 of the last 4 games.
- K-State had an assist on 20 of its 29 made field goals, including 4 players with 2 or more assists.
- K-State had a season-low 8 points off turnovers, as Radford turned the ball over just 8 times… It marks the first time all the season that the Wildcats have been held to single digit points off turnovers.
- K-State held the advantage on the glass, 41-27, including a season-tying 28 defensive rebounds… Of its 13 offensive rebounds, the Wildcats scored 9 second-chance points.
- K-State led 31-28 at halftime which included 18 points in the paint… Junior Nae'Qwan Tomlin led all scorers with 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting along with 5 rebounds and 2 blocks.
- K-State moved to 8-0 this season when leading at the half.
Player Notes
- Four Wildcats scored in double figures led by junior Nae'Qwan Tomlin's career-high 26 points.
- Tomlin scored his 26 points on 11-of-18 field goals, including 1-of-4 from 3-point range, to go with season-tying 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 assist and 1 steal in 35 minutes… He has now scored in double figures in 8 games, including each of the last 5… He has grabbed at least 5 rebounds in 8 of 12 games.
- Senior Keyontae Johnson scored 16 points on 6-of-15 field goals, including 0-of-4 from 3-point range, and 4-of-7 free throws to go with 7 rebounds and 3 assists in 36 minutes… He now has 50 career double-digit scoring games, including all 12 games this season.
- With the first of his 2 free throws with 20 seconds remaining, Johnson eclipsed 1,000 career points… He is one of 6 career 1,000-point scorers currently on the K-State team.
- Senior Markquis Nowell collected his 11th career double-double, including his sixth at K-State, with 10 points and 11 assists to go with 4 rebounds and 2 steals… It was his third double-double of the season… He went 3-of-6 from the field, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range, and made both of his free throws… He has now scored in double figures in 76 career games, including 29 in his K-State career and 10 this season.
- Nowell eclipsed 100 assists for the season, which is the fastest such stretch in school history… He now has 100 assists (8.3 apg.) through 12 games with 32 turnovers.
- Senior Desi Sills added 10 points from the bench, which is sixth double-digit scoring game of the season and the 56th in his career… He went 4-of-7 from the field, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range… He also added 4 rebounds and 2 steals.
WHAT'S NEXT
K-State now takes a 10-day break for the holidays before opening Big 12 play at home on New Year's Eve against West Virginia (9-2) at 6 p.m., CT on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Tickets start at just $15 and can be purchased at kstatesports.com/tickets or by phone at (800) 221.CATS.