David N’Guessan saved his best for last, scoring six points in overtime to lift Kansas State to a 73-70 victory over Providence on Friday night in the first round of the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship in Nassau, Bahamas.
N’Guessan had zero points in 24 minutes of action in regulation, but he converted three layups in the extra period, including two in the final 1:22, to help the Wildcats (3-1) secure their third straight victory.
Kansas State opened overtime with five unanswered points, holding the lead the rest of the way.
Tylor Perry led the Wildcats with a game-high 24 points, while Arthur Kaluma supplied 18 to go along with seven rebounds.
Devin Carter paced the Friars (3-1) with 19 points and seven rebounds. Bryce Hopkins recorded a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double for Providence, which was outshot 36.8 percent to 35.3 percent from the field.
Carter had a chance to give the Friars the win in regulation, but his heavily-contested layup attempt grazed off the front rim as time expired.
Both teams struggled to pull away through the first nine minutes of the second half, as neither led by more than four.
Hopkins dropped in a layup to ignite a 9-0 Friars run, though, and Providence was able to build a 47-42 lead with 8:06 remaining.
Perry answered with a pair of threes, including one that turned into a four-point play, and Kaluma soon added three free throws to help the Wildcats go up 53-50.
The teams went into overtime tied at 57.
Perry sank four free throws and Dai Dai Ames hit a trey over the final 2:22 of the first half to send Kansas State into the break with a 29-26 edge.
Two of Perry’s free throws resulted from a technical foul that was issued to Hopkins, who pushed Perry in the midst of a scrum under the basket. A jump ball was called, but players continued to scrap after the whistle, leading to the call.
The Friars held the largest lead of the first half at 15-9.
K-State will play No. 12 Miami in the tournament championship on Sunday.
–Field Level Media
