MANHATTAN, Kan. – Led by quartet of newcomers, Kansas State saw five players score in double figures while connecting on a season-high 54.7 percent from the field, as the Wildcats snapped a 2-game skid with a 76-75 win over Milwaukee on Friday night in front of a limited capacity crowd of 577 fans at Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State (2-4) posted or tied season-highs in five categories, including points (76), field goal percentage, field goals made (29), 3-point field goals made (10) and assists (20) to cap off a 6-game homestand to start the season. Five Wildcats, including a trio of freshmen starters (Davion Bradford, Selton Miguel and Nijel Pack) and junior transfer Rudi Williams, scored in double figures for the first time since March 15, 2019 against Iowa State.
The four newcomers combined for 63 of K-State's 76 points on 57.1 percent shooting (24-of-42), including 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from 3-point range. The freshmen trio became the first to register double-digit scoring games in the same game since a Jan. 12, 2016 home game against Texas Tech when Kamau Stokes (17), Barry Brown, Jr. (15) and Dean Wade (10) all posted double figures.
Bradford led the team in both scoring (18) and rebounding (7) for the first time in his career, while Miguel posted his second straight double-digit scoring game with 17 points and Williams added 16 points off the bench on 6-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Pack and senior Mike McGuirl added 12 and 11 points, respectively. McGuirl dished out a career-best 8 assists while committing just one turnover.
The 47 combined points by Bradford, Miguel and Pack were the most by three freshmen scorers since Brown (20), Stokes (15) and Wade (13) combined for 48 in a double-overtime loss to West Virginia on Jan. 2, 2016.
Bradford, Miguel and Pack became the first true freshmen trio to start a game in nearly 13 seasons following Ron Anderson, Michael Beasley and Jacob Pullen against Notre Dame on Dec. 4, 2007.
Milwaukee (0-1), playing its first game of the season after having to cancel its first 2 games and moving this game back 4 days due to COVID-19 issues, had four players score in double figures, including 15 from junior transfer DeAndre Gholston and 14 from freshman Grant Coleman.
The game was not without its late-game drama, as K-State had to hold off a late Milwaukee rally for the victory with McGuirl intercepting a pass from Coleman with 1.6 seconds to play.
The Wildcats seemed to be on the way to victory, leading 76-69 with 44 seconds to play after Bradford knocked down a pair of free throws. However, the Panthers wouldn't go away, hitting on 6 of 7 free throw down the stretch, including a big 3-point play from Coleman with 28 seconds. The Wildcats saw McGuirl and Miguel miss the front end of 1-and-1s, while Pack missed two in a row before the final sequence.
KEY STRETCH(ES)
After allowing Milwaukee to score the first 7 points of the game, K-State responded with a 14-0 run that forced a timeout with 11:41 to play in the first half. Five different players contributed points in the 14-0 run, including the first 5 points of the game by Miguel.
After leading by as many as 8 points early in the second half, K-State had to hold off a fierce Milwaukee run, as the Panthers closed to within 68-67 with just over 3 minutes to play on a 3-pointer by senior Te'Jon Lucas. However, the Wildcats responded with back-to-back triples from McGuirl and Williams to force a timeout with 1:20 left.
PLAYER(S) OF THE GAME
Freshman Davion Bradford led all players with 18 points on 6-of-8 field goals and a 6-of-11 effort from the free throw line to go with a game-high 7 rebounds and 2 blocks in 31 minutes.
Junior Rudi Williams posted his first career double-digit scoring game with 16 points off the bench on 6-of-8 field goals, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range to go with 4 rebounds and 3 assists in 30 minutes.
Senior Mike McGuirl dished out a career-best 8 assists to go with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
STAT OF THE GAME
63 – The quartet of newcomers – Davion Bradford (18), Selton Miguel (17), Rudi Williams (16) and Nijel Pack (12) – combined for 63 of K-State's 76 points against Milwaukee on 57.1 percent shooting (24-of-42), including 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from 3-point range.
IN THEIR WORDS
K-State Head Coach Bruce Weber
On the game…
"I'm just really happy for our players. Obviously, the last two games have been difficult. We've got such a young group. It's a difficult time, not just for our team but for everyone dealing with COVID-19 and all the different situations and issues. To our guys' credit, they stuck with it. We got down 7-0. We went on a 14-0 run. Unbelievable, we got five guys in double figures. We haven't shot the ball well, but (we went) 29-for-53 for the game. Obviously, the free throws (were an issue), Davion (Bradford) makes the two big ones, but you're 8-for-18. Then you're 10-for-22 (from 3-point range). We start three freshmen, play four freshmen at times and have Rudi (Williams) as a newcomer. You can say Davion was really good, but Mike (McGuirl) with eight assists and one turnover and 11 points and made a lot of big plays for us. Nijel (Pack) had five assists and one turnover. Selton (Miguel) gets 17, Rudi goes 4-for-5 from three. We made a lot of good reads and made a lot of nice plays and shots. Obviously, we got to get better. It's just one hard fought win, but for our guys it gives them a little hope and in this time, we all need hope. We all need love and we all need empathy. I've said it many times. For a couple of nights, we got a little bit of hope and a little bit of love. Now we got to take the next step and keep getting better."
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- K-State snapped a 2-game losing streak with the loss and earned its first win in December.
- This was the first meeting between K-State and Milwaukee… The Wildcats are now 10-1 all-time against teams from the Horizon League, including 9-0 at home.
- The Wildcats' starting lineup consisted of senior Mike McGuirl, sophomore DaJuan Gordon, freshman Nijel Pack, freshman Selton Miguel and freshman Davion Bradford… This is fourth different lineup used this season… McGuirl, DaJuan Gordon and Pack have started all 6 games this season… It marked the first career start for Miguel… McGuirl has the longest current active start streak at 11 games.
- It marked the first time that three Wildcat true freshmen have started a game since Dec. 4, 2007 when Jacob Pullen, Michael Beasley and Ron Anderson started against Notre Dame in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
- In all, K-State played one senior (McGuirl), one junior (Williams), three sophomores (A. Gordon, D. Gordon, Linguard) and three true freshmen (Bradford, Miguel and Pack).
Team Notes
- K-State posted or tied season-highs in five categories, including points (76), field goal percentage (54.7), field goals made (29), 3-point field goals made (10) and assists (20)… It was the highest field goal percentage by the Wildcats since hitting on 59.2 percent against West Virginia on Jan. 18, 2020.
- Five Wildcats (Bradford, Miguel, Williams, Pack and McGuirl) scored in double figures for the first time since March 15, 2019 against Iowa State.
- Three Wildcat true freshmen (Bradford, Miguel and Pack) scored in double figures in the same game for the first time since Jan. 12, 2016 against Texas Tech when Kamau Stokes (17), Barry Brown, Jr. (15) and Dean Wade (10) all posted double digits, while the 47 combined points by Bradford, Miguel and Pack were the most by three freshmen scorers since Brown (20), Stokes (15) and Wade (13) combined for 48 in a double-overtime loss to West Virginia on Jan. 2, 2016.
- Milwaukee connected on 41.5 percent (22-of-53) from the field, including 43.5 percent (10-of-23) from 3-point range, and hit on 75 percent (21-of-28) from the free throw line.
- K-State dished out 20 assists on its 29 made field goals… It marked the first 20-assist game since posting 29 against Alabama State on Dec. 11, 2019.
- K-State scored a season-high 38 points in the first half on 50 percent shooting (15-of-30), including 85 percent (17-of-20) inside the arc, to lead 38-31 at halftime.
- The freshmen starters of Miguel (12), Bradford (10) and Pack (6) accounted for 28 of the Wildcats' 38 points in the first half.
Player Notes
- Freshman Davion Bradford led the team in scoring (18), rebounding (7) and blocked shots (2), as he connected on 6-of-8 field goals and 6-of-11 attempts from the free throw line in 32 minutes… He posted his season-high in all 3 categories, as well as field goals made (6) and attempted (8) and free throws made (6) and attempted (11)… It marked his first career double-digit scoring game, while his 18 points surpassed his season total (15) in the first 5 games.
- Freshman Selton Miguel earned his second consecutive double-digit scoring game with a season-best 17 points on 7-of-14 field goals, including 2-of-7 from 3-point range, to go with 3 rebounds, an assist and a block in 34 minutes.
- Junior Rudi Williams scored his season-high with 16 points off the bench on 6-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, to go with 4 rebounds and 3 assists in 30 minutes… After scoring just 7 points in the first 3 games, he has 31 in the last 3 games.
- Freshman Nijel Pack posted his third double-digit scoring game of the season with 12 points on 5-of-12 field goals, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, to go with a season-tying 6 rebounds and 5 assists in a season-best 37 minutes… He now has four 5-assist games this season.
- Senior Mike McGuirl dished out a career-best 8 assists with just 1 turnover, while adding 11 points on 4-of-7 field goals, including 2-of-5 from beyond the arc, with 3 rebounds in 37 minutes… He now has at least two treys in every game this season, including a team-best 15 on the season… He has now scored in double figures in 14 career games, including 4 times this season.
WHAT'S NEXT
K-State will hit the road for the first time in 2020-21 on Tuesday night, as the Wildcats travel to Ames, Iowa to take on Iowa State (1-2) at 8 p.m., CT on ESPNU. It will be the earliest conference game in the school's modern era.