Ugonna Onyenso comes off bench to spark Kansas State in 74-56 win over Mississippi Valley State
Kansas State guard David N'Guessan (1) celebrates after making a basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against LSU Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Manhattan, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Ugonna Onyenso came off the bench to score 16 points in 12 minutes and Kansas State shook off a poor first half to beat Mississippi Valley State 74-56 on Tuesday night.
On a night the Wildcats (3-1) shot just 36%, Onyenso was 6 of 7 from the floor and made all four of his free throws. C.J. Jones scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half. David N’Guessan added 10 points while Coleman Hawkins, who was just 1-of-11 shooting with two points, grabbed 13 rebounds.
Arthur Tate scored 16 points and Antonio Sisk 15 for the Delta Devils (1-4).
The Wildcats led 25-23 at halftime, having been up by as many as 14, after shooting just 29% and 1 of 13 from 3-point range. They finished 3 of 23 from the arc but hit 25 of 27 free throws.
Brenden Hausen, averaging over 15 points a game for Kansas State, got his first points of the game and the Wildcats’ first of the second half with a 3-pointer, and that started a 10-0 run. The lead reached 19 with seven minutes to go.
Mississippi Valley State made a final run to get within 10 but the Wildcats responded with nine straight points, the last four by N’Guessan, to push the lead back to 19.
In the first half, the Delta Devils got a pair of 3-pointers from Tate and five points from Donovan Sanders to outscore the Wildcats 16-4 over the final 4 1/2 minutes to tie before David Castillo’s jumper at the end of the half gave the lead back to the Wildcats.
