Saturday, November 26, 2016

Barclays Center Classic: K-State, Maryland win; will meet Saturday night

By Jason Schott (@JESchott19)

At the Barclays Center Classic on Friday night, Kansas State rolled to an easy win over Boston College, while Maryland beat Richmond in overtime.

Maryland will play Kansas State in the Barclays Center Classic championship game on Saturday night. The consolation game between Boston College and Richmond opens the night at 7 p.m.


Kansas State 72, Boston College 54
This game got off to a very slow start, as each time couldn't find a rhythm early.
After a first half in which Boston College shot just 29 percent (7-24) from the field and made 14 turnovers, and Kansas State shot just 35 percent (10-29), it was Kansas State that eked out a nine-point edge, 31-22, at halftime.
Kansas State pulled away in the second half, as Xavier Sneed put on a show.
Sneed had 10 of his team-leading 16 points in the second half, as his free throws gave them a 44-31 lead at the 13:20 mark, a three gave them a 17-point lead, 52-35, with 9:45 left, and another three made it 68-50 with 2:04 remaining. K-State led by as many as 21, at 72-51, with 1:14 left on a Wesley Iwundu dunk.
Sneed shot 5-9 from the field, including 2-6 on threes to notch the 16 points off the bench, along with two rebounds and an assist.
Dean Wade had 11 points on 5-8 from the field, including 1-2 from behind the arc, eight rebounds, and two assists. Barry Brown also had 11 points (2-8 FG, 1-4 threes, 6-8 FTs), with three assists. Kamau Stokes had eight points, six assists, and three rebounds.
Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber said of the game, "I thought it was a good win for us. Boston College has had their struggles, but Coach (Jim) Christian has done a nice job. Their guys are a year older. They are a much better team than they were a year ago. We were scared a little bit. (Jerome) Robinson is a good player. We have a couple of guys that can defend. I thought we took away some stuff. We stayed in some ball screens and made him a little frustrated. The defense and our bench were the keys to the first half. We had some foul trouble. Some guys that normally receive a lot of minutes came in and did a great job."
Weber said of playing at Barclays Center, "As a coach, you try to get venues to prepare your players for the future. This is a major NCAA tournament type venue. It is a special arena. It has a lot of personality to it. This is something you definitely want to take advantage of."
Kamau Stokes said of playing at Barclays, "It's a great experience. We've been home the whole season. This is our first road game. To play here is a great experience. We just have to treat it as another game. We can't get too excited because of the venue. It's New York. Everyone wants to play here. It's a great experience."
Maryland 88, Richmond 82 - Overtime
Maryland overcame a first half deficit to beat Richmond in what turned into a classic.
Richmond led by as many as 14 points in the first half, and led 38-26 at halftime.
In the second half, Maryland went on a 10-0 run capped by a Melo Trimble layup to cut Richmond's lead to one, at 43-42 at the 13:27 mark. A couple minutes later, a Trimble three-pointer tied it up at 50.
Maryland kept the momentum going, and they went up five, 57-52, on a Michal Cekovsky layup on a put-back with 8:01 emaining.
Richmond wasn't done, as a ShawnDre' Jones layup gave them a 65-60 edge with 3:21 left. 
Maryland stepped up the defense, and over the next couple minutes went up 67-65 on a Trimble three.
Richmond took a 70-69 lead on a T.J. Cline three with 32 seconds left, and Justin Jackson made it to the line for Maryland with 13 seconds left, and made one of two at the line to tie it at 70. That was the score heading into overtime.
Maryland opened up the overtime session on an 8-1 run capped by a Trimble three-point play at the 3:22 mark, and they outscored Richmond 18-12 in the period to earn the win.
Melo Trimble led Maryland with 31 points on 10-20 from the field, including 5-13 on three-pointers, four rebounds, an assist, and two steals. Anthony Cowan had 18 points on 5-9 from the field, 1-4 on threes, five rebounds, and four assists. Justin Jackson had 16 points on 4-13 shooting, 2-6 on threes, seven rebounds, and an assist.
Richmond was led by ShawnDre' Jones, who had 23 points on 8-17 shooting 2-5 from behind the arc, four assists, and a rebound. T.J. Cline had 18 points (7-20 FG, 1-8 threes), nine rebounds, and nine assists.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.