Entering the season, Kansas State wasn’t sure who it would be able to turn to when the Wildcats really needed a basket.
The season is very young, but that issue may have found some clarity in K-State’s 81-71 victory over Columbia on Monday night.
True freshman Dean Wade and veterans Wesley Iwundu and Justin Edwards all came up big for the Wildcats at various points as the Wildcats moved to 2-0 on the season.
“This was a good win,” K-State coach Bruce Weber said. “If you know anything about basketball, you know Columbia is a good team. I thought we were ready to play and just took it to them from the beginning.”
K-State (2-0) led the game from wire to wire, but had to endure several runs from an experienced Lion team, who are picked to finish second in the Ivy League.
The Wildcats always had someone ready to flip momentum back in their favor.
“That’s how you win at home,” Weber said. “You have to have a number of guys step up. I’ve told them not to watch the play, but to go make a play. They did a good job.”
Edwards led the way with 19 points, while Wade had 17 and Iwundu added 16.
K-State led by as many as 13 in the first half before Columbia climbed within five. Then, to open the second half, Edwards scored six straight points.
With momentum back, it appeared K-State would win comfortably, and the Wildcats led by double digits for most of the second half.
The Lions refused to give in, however. After a series of K-State turnovers, Grant Mullins connected on a three-pointer to bring Columbia within 64-61 at the 5:45 mark.
Then it was Wade’s turn to take over.
He hit a long ball of his own and followed it with a steal, which led to an Iwundu layup. K-State would not give up the momentum again.
“It was muscle memory more than anything,” Wade said of his big shot. “I couldn’t see the rim at all.”
For the game, the Wildcats shot 50 percent from the floor, higher than all but eight games last season. Kamau Stokes scored 11 points and Stephen Hurt added 10, giving K-State five double-figure scorers.
“I’ve told you guys all along that we have a better team than last year,” Weber said. “We may not have the talent or experience that we had a year ago, but we have a better team.
“They get along, they like each other and they play hard.”
The Wildcats return to action Friday night when they host South Dakota at 7 p.m.
