Strong three-point shooting helps lead Kansas State to a big win over Bellarmine

Jerome Tang stands on the side of the court with a face of concentration and contemplation during K-State's basketball game against the Bellarmine Knights. Courtesy: Sam Lowther

For the second game in a row, the Kansas State Wildcats hit 14 three-pointers and defeated the Bellarmine Knights 98–71 on Saturday night at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan.

It was a close game early as Kansas State led just 10–8 at the first media timeout, but the Wildcats began to open things up midway through the first half with a 13–2 scoring run that put them ahead 28–14 with 6:50 remaining.

The Wildcats controlled the tempo for the rest of the half as Bellarmine never got closer than 10, and Kansas State took a 46–30 lead into halftime.

Kansas State pushed its lead to 19 in the first three minutes of the second half, but the Knights battled back by forcing key turnovers and cutting the deficit to 59–47 with 15:00 remaining.

Bellarmine kept the margin within 15 for the next 10 minutes, but with Kansas State leading 81–67 at the 4:16 mark, the Wildcats closed out the game on a 17–4 run to secure a 27-point victory.

Kansas State was led in scoring by PJ Haggerty for the second straight game, as he finished with 23 points and a double-double that included 11 assists. Khamari McGriff and Abdi Bashir Jr. also scored in double figures—McGriff tallied 16 points on a perfect 8-for-8 shooting performance, while Bashir Jr. scored 15 points, all coming from beyond the arc. Off the bench, David Castillo added 19 points and was perfect as well, going 7-for-7 from the field and 5-for-5 from three-point range.

As a team, the Wildcats shot 62.3 percent from the field and hit 14 of 23 attempts from beyond the arc for a 60.9 percent three-point mark.

Bellarmine had four players in double figures. Michael Wilson Jr. led the Knights with 19 points. Starters Jack Karasinski and Brian Waddell added 18 and 11 points, respectively, while freshman Jacob Wassler scored 10 points off the bench in his collegiate debut.

Kansas State improves to 2–0 and will get five days off before returning to Bramlage Coliseum to face California in its first Power Five matchup of the season on Thursday night. Bellarmine falls to 0–2 and will prepare for its home opener Wednesday against Hanover College (Ind.).