Gipson, Foster Lead Cats Past UMKC

Thomas Gipson scored 21 points and Marcus Foster added 16 with most of his production coming from four three-point baskets as Kansas State rallied from a 10-point first half deficit to defeat UMKC 83-73 in the opening game of the EA Sports Maui Invitational played Monday night at Bramlage Coliseum.

The Kangaroos came into the game a confident squad after their 69-61 upset of Missouri on Friday night in their season opener in Columbia and throughout the first half they staged a strong bid to make the Wildcats their next victim as K-State got off to a sluggish start especially on Defense.

The two teams traded baskets for the game’s first three and a half minutes,but then the Kangaroos ripped off six straight points to lead 12-6. After K-State cut UMKC’s lead to two points, the Kangaroos used another surge to lead by as much as 26-15 with 9:49 left in the first half culminating a 16-5 run with a three-pointer by Broderick Newbill.

The Wildcats then began to get untracked with a 9-4 run to cut the deficit to 28-24 on a three-pointer by Tre Harris. A Foster trey brought the Cats to within one point just before halftime at 37-36 but UMKC pushed the lead back to four with one of their own by Martez Harrison and took a 40-36 advantage into intermission.

In the second half, K-State found their game and some momentum despite falling behind 45-39 in the first two minutes. The Wildcats would take the lead for good thanks to a 13-2 run in a span of three minutes capped by a pair of Gipson free throws to go ahead 52-47. For the rest of the game, K-State would widen its lead and begin to wear down the Kangaroos who had several players in foul trouble. Despite being in control much of the second half, the Wildcats never held a lead larger than 10 points and settled for the 83-73 win.

In all, four K-State players scored in double figures with Justin Edwards contributing 15 points and Nigel Johnson scoring 12. Monday night also marked the season debut of Wesley Iwundu who scored three points. Three UMKC players recorded double-figures led by Harrison’s 21 points, Broderick’s 11 points and 10 points from Canadian native Shayok Shayok.

Kansas State (2-0) will now spend the next two weeks away from Bramlage Coliseum as they take to the road for the first time this season on Friday when they visit Long Beach State, a team they defeated twice in an eight-day span last season. Following that will be the first game in Maui next Monday afternoon against Purdue.
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