Wildcats pound Coppin State, move to 7-1

Despite a sloppy first half, Kansas State had no trouble blowing out Coppin State, 83-58, Wednesday night at Bramlage Coliseum.

The Wildcats struggled to maintain a consistent attack, but when they were hot, they were on fire. And that was more than enough to move to 7-1 on the season.

“We did a nice job of sharing the ball when we needed to,” K-State coach Bruce Weber said. “It was a grind for us at the beginning, but we figured it out.”

K-State made seven of its first nine shots and built an early 14-5 advantage. But the Wildcats couldn’t keep their foot on the gas, thanks to some miscommunication on offense and a few missed assignments on the other end.

The Eagles closed the game to within 33-27 before K-State pulled away. The Wildcats finished the first half on a 9-2 run, then slowly extended the lead throughout the second half.

Justin Edwards and Wesley Iwundu each scored 14 points, leading five Wildcats in double figures. For the game, K-State shot 44 percent.

“Wes and Justin have been very good for us,” Weber said. “They’ve been the consistent players we need them to be. You can see it in the stats.”

After committing 12 turnovers in the first half, K-State didn’t commit any in the second, making the task of stretching the lead much easier.

“We were a little out of sync in the first half and didn’t attack their zone in a positive fashion,” Weber said. “Give our guys credit. We got after them at halftime and we played a much cleaner game in the second half.”

K-State will now head to SEC country for a second straight weekend. The Wildcats face Texas A&M (7-2) on Saturday.

Weber said avoiding turnovers will be the key to defeating one of the best teams K-State will face this season.

“We have to take care of the ball,” he said. “They’re as good as any team we play, including in our league. They have a really deep team.”