David N’Guessan scored 17 points to lead Kansas State to a 83-71 victory over George Washington in the first round of the Paradise Jam at St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands Friday night.
K-State jumped out to a big first-half lead before George Washington made it close in the second half.
The Wildcats will play in the tournament semifinals Sunday against Liberty, which defeated Louisiana 89-69 Friday.
The Revolutionaries will face Louisiana in a consolation-round game Saturday.
The Wildcats outrebounded George Washington 42-28, and shot 51.8 percent from the field.
The Wildcats (4-1) had five players in double figures. Joining N’Guessan were Dug McDaniel (13 points), Max Jones (12), Brendan Hausen (11) and Achor Achor (10). N’Guessan and Coleman Hawkins each had nine rebounds.
George Washington (4-1) was led by Virgin Islands native Jacoi Hutchinson with 19 points. Rafael Castro added 12 points, and Gerald Drumgoole Jr. and Christian Jones had 10 each.
K-State had trouble shaking GWU early in the second half. The Revolutionaries outscored the Wildcats 18-9 to start the half and trim the deficit to 55-45. Christian Jones’ 3-pointer, followed by a long-range make by Drumgoole and a layup by Jones midway through the half cut it to 59-55.
But the Wildcats answered with a 7-2 run, stopping the spurt by George Washington. The Wildcats extended the lead to double digits with just under six minutes remaining and the Revolutionaries never got closer the rest of the way.
The Wildcats started quickly and never trailed. They grabbed a double-digit lead at 20-9 on a corner 3-pointer by Max Jones with 11:14 left in the half. They led by 15 at 24-9 and grabbed their largest lead of the half at 46-27 heading into the locker room.
K-State was led by N’Guessan with nine first-half points. He was one of eight Wildcats with at least three points in the half.
The Revolutionaries were led by Hutchinson with 10 points. George Washington leading scorer Darren Buchanan Jr., who came in averaging 17.3 points per game, was held to five points in the first half and nine for the game.
