KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the first 35 minutes against No. 9 North Carolina, Kansas State’s young team looked anything but rattled against the national title favorite.
It was the last five minutes that mattered most, however.
UNC erased an eight-point deficit in the final minutes to beat K-State, 80-70, in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic championship game at Sprint Center.
Kamau Stokes had the game of his young life, scoring 23 points and connecting on six three-pointers after making just three in the Wildcats’ first four games.
He seemingly could not miss at times, answering the Tar Heels’ quick tempo offense with smoothness and poise highly uncommon among freshmen.
But he also committed two critical turnovers during UNC’s 23-1 run to end the game.
K-State (4-1) led 32-30 at halftime, despite falling behind 8-2 out of the gate. The Wildcats slowly adjusted the pace of the contest to their preferred level and it worked.
For every run K-State had, UNC answered with one of its own. After Stephen Hurt’s jumper put the Wildcats ahead 67-59 with 4:22 to play, the Tar Heels started another one. They saved their biggest and best for last.
K-State only made one more field goal the rest of the contest and turned the ball over three times. UNC made six of its final nine shots, and took the lead for good on a dunk by Kennedy Meeks with two minutes to go.
In addition to Stokes’ 23 points, Justin Edwards scored ten, albeit on 3-of-11 shooting. Hurt and Carlbe Irvin scored eight points apiece. North Carolina was paced by Justin Jackson’s 22 points.
The Wildcats return to action on Sunday against South Carolina State.
