P.J. Haggerty and Nate Johnson combined for 49 points as Kansas State used a torrid-shooting second half to defeat UNC Greensboro 93-64 in the opening game for both clubs. The Wildcats scored 60 points in the second half.
Haggerty led all scorers with 27 points, while Johnson was one rebound and one assist shy of a triple-double with his 22 points. Haggerty, Johnson and Abdi Bashir Jr. combined for 44 points and went 9-for-11 from 3-point range in the second half.
Justin Neely led UNC Greensboro (0-1) with 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Lilian Marville added 14 and Domas Kauzonas had 10.
Kansas State (1-0) used a 12-1 run to open a 55-43 lead with 13:32 left. Haggerty and Johnson keyed the run before getting the rest of their teammates to join in the fun.
The Wildcats led 61-45 at the under-12 media timeout. After making just 3 of 10 on 3-pointers in the first half, the Wildcats sank 6 of 7 in the first eight minutes of the second half.
When Johnson hit another 3-pointer — his fifth in six attempts — with 11:17 remaining, Kansas State had already surpassed its 33 points from the entire first half.
UNC Greensboro went on an 11-1 run to break a tie at 8-8, causing Wildcats coach Jerome Tang to call a timeout. The Spartans maintained a nine-point lead at 26-17 with 6:32 remaining in the half before the Wildcats responded with a 10-4 run, narrowing the gap to just 30-27 on a 3-pointer by Andrej Kostic.
Haggerty hit a pair of free throws to reduce the deficit to one point before Kostic made another shot from the line with 2:07 left to tie the game. Elias Rapieque’s free throw finished a 7-0 run that put Kansas State in the lead.
UNC Greensboro held the 34-33 halftime lead after Haggerty’s jumper at the buzzer was short. Both teams shot just 40% from the field in the half. The Spartans attempted five more shots than the Wildcats. The Wildcats were hurt by just 6-of-13 shooting from the line.
Haggerty led all scorers at the break with 13 points. Kauzonas led UNCG with six points in the first half.
–Field Level Media
