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St. Johns Wade scores 17 points for Kansas State
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K-STATE SPORTS INFORMATION

MANHATTAN — Senior Justin Edwards paced five Wildcats in double figures as Kansas State defeated the Columbia Lions, 81-71, in front of 11,368 fans in Bramlage Coliseum on Monday night.
The five Wildcats in double figures were the most since Nov. 14, 2014, when K-State had six players reach double figures against Southern Utah in the 2014 season opener.
Edwards’ 19 points marked a career-high for the senior at K-State. St. John freshmen Dean Wade made a trio of 3-pointers and set a career high in points (17) and steals (2). Kamau Stokes added 11 points.
Junior Wesley Iwundu posted his second-straight double-digit scoring night, notching 16 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists. Senior Stephen Hurt tacked on 10 points, marking the 23rd time in his career he has scored in double figures.
The Basics
• Final Score: Kansas State 81, Columbia 71
• Records: Kansas State 2-0, 0-0 Big 12 // Columbia 1-1, 0-0 Ivy
• Attendance: 11,368
• Next Game: Friday, Nov. 20 \\ vs. South Dakota \\ 7 p.m. CT \\ FOX Sports Kansas City

The Short Story
• Edwards paced five Wildcats in double figures as Kansas State defeated the Columbia Lions, 81-71, in front of 11,368 fans in Bramlage Coliseum on Monday night.
• The five players in double figures were the most since Nov. 14, 2014 against Southern Utah.
• K-State is now 21-5 when hitting 50 percent or better from the floor under head coach Bruce Weber. The Wildcats shot 50.0 percent (30-of-60) from the floor in the win.
• It was the first meeting with an Ivy League opponent since the 1975 NCAA Tournament and the first at home… The Wildcats are now 3-0 all-time against the Ancient Eight.

How It Happened | First Half
• Hurt scored the first points of the game, hitting a jumper to give the Wildcats the early lead.
• The Wildcats took a double-digit lead at the 14:38 mark, as an Iwundu layup extended the lead to 19-8.
• An Edwards’ jumper gave K-State its largest lead, 33-20, with 6:49 remaining in the first half.
• However, Columbia went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to four at the final media timeout. The Lions’ Luke Petrasek scored five of the nine points during the run.
• K-State led 40-35 at halftime, as the Wildcats connected on 48.5 percent (16-of-33) from the field.
• Iwundu led all scorers at the half with 10 points, while Edwards and Wade each added 7 points.

How It Happened | Second Half
• K-State got off to a quick start in the second half, going on an 11-4 run in the opening three minutes to extend its lead to 51-39.
• The two teams traded buckets for most of the second half as the Wildcats maintained a double-digit lead.
• Columbia cut the lead to 64-61 with 5:45 remaining in the game after hitting three-straight 3-pointers over three possessions.
• D.J. Johnson’s dunk on the following possession extended the lead to 66-61 and sparked a 9-0 run by the Wildcats to push the lead back to 73-61.
• The Wildcats hit 9-of-11 free throws in the final minute of the game to seal the victory.

Beyond the Boxscore
• K-State is now 21-5 when hitting 50 percent or better from the floor… The Wildcats shot 50.0 percent (30-of-60) from the floor in the win… The team also had 17 assists on their 30 made field goals.
• The Wildcats have posted back-to-back 80-point games since the first two games of the 2014-15 season.
• Head coach Bruce Weber is now 13-1 when scoring 80 points or more.
• The win moves Weber to 46-7 in his career in Bramlage Coliseum.
• K-State held a 25-14 advantage in points off of turnovers and a 16-8 edge in second-chance points.
• The Wildcats had five players in double figures, the most since Nov. 14, 2014 when the team opened the season with six players in twin-figures against Southern Utah.  

Quotable
• “I told you guys all along, the K-State fans and the Catbacker tour that we have a good team,” head coach Bruce Weber said. “I do not know if we have as much talent as we did a year ago, but we have the same experience. We have a better team that gets along together, they enjoy each other, they play hard and practice hard. I think the big thing is we have to do a good job in playing the bench. We did not play the bench much today, but we have to, especially when you play Friday, Monday and Tuesday next week. We have to keep those guys heads up – keep talking to them.”

Up Next
• K-State concludes its three-game homestand to start the season on Friday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m., as it hosts South Dakota at Bramlage Coliseum. Tickets are available starting at $10, while fans can take advantage of the new Bramlage Bundle for just $20, which includes a general admission/bench ticket, $10 concessions voucher and a souvenir from the K-State Super Store. The contest will be televised on FOX Sports Kansas City (state of Kansas, Kansas City area), K-StateHD.TV and ESPN3 (outside of state of Kansas).