(Courtesy K-State Sports Information)
Tijuca Club hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 45 seconds left, as the 22-and-under club team held on to defeat Kansas State, 74-72, in a physically-contested game on Monday night.
The two teams combined to shoot 78 free throws in the game, including 47 by the home team. The officials also whistled the teams for four technical fouls, including two on head coach Bruce Weber, which caused his ejection early in the fourth quarter. He was whistled for his first technical in the first quarter.
The ejection of Weber sparked the Wildcats, as they scored seven straight points to take a 69-68 lead with 3:32 to go in the game. After a basket by Tijuca, Will Spradling connected on his second 3-pointer to give the squad a 72-70 advantage with 1:35 to play. However, Tijuca was able to seize the lead for the final time with their late trey. Rodney McGruder stole the ball with seconds left but his shot fell short.
McGruder led four players in double figures with 16 points, along with three assists and two rebounds. Spradling added 12, while Adrian Diaz chipped in 11 points to seven rebounds and four blocks. Angel Rodriguez also had double figures with 10 to go with six assists, three steals and three rebounds. Freshman D.J. Johnson, who had to play more minutes due to foul problems, led all players with nine rebounds.
K-State will take the day off from basketball on Tuesday to do more sight-seeing, and hold a basketball clinic in Rio de Janeiro. The Cats will play its last game of the trip tomorrow (Wednesday) night. For updates on the team’s trip to Brazil, follow kstatesports and kstate_gameday on Twitter.
