NASSAU, The Bahamas – Kansas State scored 55 points in the second half on 56.8 percent shooting, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a double-digit deficit to a hot-shooting No. 12/11 Miami, as the Hurricanes earned a 91-83 victory over the Wildcats to win the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship on Sunday afternoon before 1,895 fans at Baha Mar Convention Center.
Junior guard Cam Carter scored 24 of his game-tying and career-best 28 points in the second half, as the Wildcats (3-2) couldn’t rally from a 24-point deficit despite their best efforts. Junior Arthur Kaluma registered his fourth career double-double and first as a Wildcat with 18 points and game-high 12 rebounds. Seniors David N’Guessan and Tylor Perry added 10 points each.
For his effort in the two-game tournament, Kaluma was named to the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship All-Tournament after averaging 18.5 points and 9.5 rebounds.
Former Wildcat Nijel Pack, who set the new event scoring record (43 points) for the two-game Bahamas Championship, was named the Most Valuable Player of the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship. He scored a game-tying 28 points with seven 3-pointers in the championship game against his former team. He finished 9-of-16 from the field, including 7-of-12 from beyond the arc.
Down by as many as 24 points in the second half, including 66-43 with just over 10 minutes to play, K-State made a furious rally, outscoring Miami, 35-19, to close to within 85-78 with 45 seconds remaining. Carter scored 20 of his 24 second-half points during this stretch to keep the Wildcats in it until the end. The Hurricanes made all six of their free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
Miami (5-0) showed why it’s among the best shooting teams in the country, scoring its 91 points on 53.3 percent (32-of-60) shooting from the field, including 50 percent (12-of-24) from 3-point range. The Hurricanes connected on 58.1 percent (18-of-31) in the first half, including 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from long range, in building a 19-point halftime advantage.
Three-point shooting was a huge storyline, as Miami knocked down 12 3-pointers on 50 percent shooting, while K-State made just 4 of 28 attempts (14.3 percent) from beyond the arc. It was the lowest 3-point field goal percentage by the Wildcats since shooting 13.6 percent vs. Arkansas in 2021.
Despite its poor shooting from 3-point range, K-State still connected on nearly 50 percent from the field for the game, hitting on 49.3 percent (33-of-67) from the field, including 74.4 percent (29-of-39) from inside the 3-point arc. The Wildcats shot 56.8 percent (21-of-37) in the second half. The team scored 56 points in the paint, which tied for the most in school history since the stat began being kept in 2000-01.
In addition to Pack’s 28 points, three other Hurricanes scored in double figures, including 23 from junior Norchad Omier, who went 7-of-14 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Omier also had a team-best 7 rebounds and 3 steals. Fellow juniors Matthew Cleveland and Wooga Popular added 15 points each.
The Wildcats played without freshman guard Dai Dai Ames, who was suspended by the NCAA for his ejection against Providence on Friday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Miami took control of the game in early going, scoring 7 straight points during a 14-2 run to take a 15-6 edge at the second media timeout with 11:44 to play in the first half. However, K-State didn’t do itself any favors in the early going, shooting just 30 percent (3-of-10), and turning the ball over 5 times.
The Wildcats were able to within 11 on several occasions, including 28-17 on a basket by junior Cam Carter, however, the Hurricanes responded with an 8-2 run, including a pair of 3-pointers from Pack, to push the lead back to 36-22 with under 4 before halftime. The lead grew to as many as 20, as Miami finished 9-of-16 from 3-point range in the first half, including six from Pack.
The second half started off much like the first half, as the Hurricanes scored 10 of the first 15 points to extend their lead to 57-33 with 16:20 to play. They maintained a healthy lead, including 66-43 with 10:41 remaining, until Carter caught fire. Carter was responsible for 14 points during the Wildcats’ 25-13 run that cut the deficit to 79-68 at the final media timeout at the 3:02 mark.
Carter, with help from junior Arthur Kaluma and senior Tylor Perry, continued to push Miami in the last few minutes. K-State closed the deficit to single digits, including 85-78 after a pair of Carter free throws, with 45 seconds to play. However, the Hurricanes made all their free throws down the stretch to keep the Wildcats at bay en route to the 91-83 victory.
In all, the Wildcats outscored the Hurricanes, 40-25, in the last 10 minutes.
HEAD COACH JEROME TANG
On the game…
“First of all, I’m just very thankful to coach these young men, and to be here at K-State with the best fans in the country. I don’t know if television did them justice. But our fans were unbelievable. And I’m so thankful for them. I did a terrible job in the first half of putting the game plan together. It didn’t give us a chance to win in the first half. I’m thankful for my staff because we were able to make adjustments at halftime. And then the second half, you saw the team are capable of. We were more aggressive getting to the paint. We owned the offensive glass, and it gave us a chance to win the game. I take responsibility for the game plan in the first half, but we're gonna grow from here. I’m just very, very thankful for the toughness, character, togetherness and grittiness of our young men.”
On the fight of the team despite being down…
“We’ve got a tough, together group that’s learning and growing every day. They got no quit in them. They are high character individuals that can make adjustments on the fly, so I’m thankful for the opportunity to coach them. I’m gonna do a better job of putting them in a better position so that we don’t get down so big in the first half.”
On the performance of Cam Carter…
“Cam’s hard work is paying off. I loved his aggressiveness in the second half. I thought in the first half, he allowed his offense to affect his defense. And in the second half, it gave us a more complete game, and the team did a good job of setting screens for him. He went up there and got it done.”
UP NEXT
K-State opens a 4-game homestand on Wednesday night, as the Wildcats play host to Central Arkansas (1-3) at 7 p.m., CT. Tickets are still available at kstatesports.com/tickets.