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Kansas St tops Montana St, 1st March Madness win since 2018

AP
Mar 18, 2023

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) Markquis Nowell had 17 points and 14 assists and No. 3 seed Kansas State held off 14th-seeded Montana State 77-65 Friday night for its first NCAA Tournament win since knocking off Kentucky in 2018 to reach the Elite Eight.

Now the two Wildcat programs will meet again in a rematch on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky, the sixth seed, defeated No. 11 Providence 61-53 in the earlier game.

Kentucky fans packed the Greensboro Coliseum for the first game, and they are likely to provide a home-court advantage of sorts.

But first-year Kansas State coach Jerome Tang isn't expected to be intimidated. Tang was an assistant coach on the Baylor staff that ended Kentucky's 55-game win streak at Rupp Arena in 2012. The Bears also beat Kentucky in two neutral site games, and he feels K-State will have plenty of support.

“I understand how the Cats travel, but our Cats travel, too,” Tang said.

Nowell and fellow third-team Associated Press All-American Keyontae Johnson, who had 18 points and eight rebounds, proved too much for the Bobcats to handle. Nowell's used his quickness to create shots for himself and his teammates and Montana State didn't have anyone physical enough to guard Johnson.

“We don't have too many guys like that in our league,” Montana State coach Danny Sprinkle said.

RaeQuan Battle had 26 points on 9 of 17 shooting for Montana State (25-10), which had its eight-game win steak snapped.

Montana State simply didn’t have the size to hang with Kansas State, who outscored the Bobcats 48-30 in the paint.

“It’s a big emphasis on getting to the paint,” Johnson said. “When you get to the paint, it draws so much attention, and we have dynamic players, dynamic guards that can get to the paint and create for each other. You just saw it today. When we play together and for each other, we’re a really good team.”

Kansas State (24-9) led Montana State 34-28 at the break, and the Wildcats stretched the lead to 13 with 11 minutes remaining when Desi Sills scoring on a layup off an inbounds pass under his own basket after a botched defensive assignment.

Montana State went to a 1-3-1 defense, which disrupted the Wildcats for a short time and helped cut the lead to eight before Nowell buried a deep 3-pointer from the left wing and Nae'Qwan Tomlin scored off a lob to push the lead back to 13.

Montana State wouldn't quit though, with Darius Brown knocking down a 3 with 2:44 left.

But Tomlin, who finished with 13 points, answered with another dunk off after Nowell threaded the needle with his 14th assist, tying a personal career best and establishing a record for the most ever by a Kansas State player in an NCAA Tournament game.

“I have to give credit to my teammates for getting open and finishing the plays,” Nowell said. “It was just a well-executed ball game and game plan that the coaching staff came up with, and the players, we executed it. I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates.”

David N'Guessan added two two technical foul free throws and then scored on an inside layup. Sills punctuated the win with a breakaway left-handed dunk giving the Wildcats a 16-point lead.

BIG PICTURE

Montana State: The Bobcats were looking for a better showing after losing by 35 points in the opening round of last year's tournament to Texas Tech and they got it. The Big Sky champions showed they can compete on the NCAA Tournament stage but in the end didn't have the size to compete with the Wildcats. “We just kept battling back and battling back and battling back. We couldn’t get over that hump tonight," Sprinkle said.

Kansas State: The Wildcats had some concerns coming into the tournament after back-to-back losses to West Virginia and TCU. It was a struggle at times, but the Wildcats finished with a flurry to seal the win.

UP NEXT

Kansas State beat Kentucky 61-58 on March 22, 2018, for its first win over those Wildcats in 10 tries.

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Follow Steve Reed on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SteveReedAP

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AP March Madness coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

1st Half
MTST
Bobcats
28
KSU
Wildcats
34

Time		Play	Score
20:00		Jubrile Belo vs. Nae'Qwan Tomlin (Bobcats gains possession)
19:42		Caleb Fuller misses three point jump shot
19:40		Great Osobor offensive rebound
19:38		Cam Carter personal foul (Great Osobor draws the foul)
19:21		RaeQuan Battle misses two point jump shot
19:19		Markquis Nowell defensive rebound
19:08		Nae'Qwan Tomlin misses two point jump shot
19:06		RaeQuan Battle defensive rebound
18:56		Jubrile Belo offensive foul (Desi Sills draws the foul)
18:56		Jubrile Belo turnover (offensive foul)
18:41		Nae'Qwan Tomlin offensive foul
18:41		Nae'Qwan Tomlin turnover (offensive foul)
18:36		Darius Brown II misses two point jump shot
18:34		Markquis Nowell defensive rebound
18:28		Cam Carter misses two point jump shot
18:26		David N'Guessan offensive rebound
18:25	+2	David N'Guessan makes two point putback layup	0-2
18:15		Caleb Fuller turnover (bad pass) (Desi Sills steals)
18:14		Desi Sills turnover (out of bounds)
18:11		Darius Brown II turnover (bad pass) (David N'Guessan steals)
18:09		Markquis Nowell turnover (bad pass)
17:49	+2	RaeQuan Battle makes two point jump shot	2-2
17:31	+2	Keyontae Johnson makes two point layup	2-4
17:13		David N'Guessan blocks RaeQuan Battle's two point layup
17:11		David N'Guessan defensive rebound
17:01		Desi Sills misses three point jump shot
16:59		Darius Brown II defensive rebound
16:34		Great Osobor misses two point layup
16:32		Keyontae Johnson defensive rebound
16:23	+3	Markquis Nowell makes three point jump shot (Cam Carter assists)	2-7
16:05	+2	RaeQuan Battle makes two point layup (Great Osobor assists)	4-7
15:55		Markquis Nowell turnover (bad pass) (Great Osobor steals)
15:48		Great Osobor turnover (bad pass) (Markquis Nowell steals)
15:34		Nae'Qwan Tomlin misses two point layup
15:32		Caleb Fuller defensive rebound
15:23	+2	Darius Brown II makes two point layup	6-7
14:57		Great Osobor blocks David N'Guessan's two point layup
14:55		Great Osobor defensive rebound
14:48	+2	Great Osobor makes two point layup (Darius Brown II assists)	8-7
14:30		Keyontae Johnson misses two point jump shot
14:28		RaeQuan Battle defensive rebound
14:09		Nae'Qwan Tomlin blocks RaeQuan Battle's two point jump shot
14:07		Markquis Nowell defensive rebound
14:00	+3	Cam Carter makes three point jump shot (Markquis Nowell assists)	8-10
13:41	+3	RaeQuan Battle makes three point jump shot (Caleb Fuller assists)	11-10
13:41		Nae'Qwan Tomlin shooting foul (RaeQuan Battle draws the foul)
13:41		TV timeout
13:41	+1	RaeQuan Battle makes regular free throw 1 of 1	12-10
13:25	+2	Abayomi Iyiola makes two point layup (Markquis Nowell assists)	12-12
13:02		Tyler Patterson misses three point jump shot
12:59		Wildcats defensive rebound
12:41	+2	Keyontae Johnson makes two point jump shot (Markquis Nowell assists)	12-14
12:23	+2	Tyler Patterson makes two point jump shot (Jubrile Belo assists)	14-14
12:02		Markquis Nowell misses two point layup
12:00		Markquis Nowell offensive rebound
11:55		Ismael Massoud misses three point jump shot
11:53		Bobcats defensive rebound
11:53		TV timeout
11:24		RaeQuan Battle misses two point jump shot
11:22		Ismael Massoud defensive rebound
10:57	+2	Keyontae Johnson makes two point jump shot	14-16
10:35		Caleb Fuller turnover (5-second violation)
10:25		Keyontae Johnson misses three point jump shot
10:23		Bobcats defensive rebound
9:58	+2	RaeQuan Battle makes two point layup	16-16
9:49	+2	David N'Guessan makes two point layup (Markquis Nowell assists)	16-18
9:49		RaeQuan Battle shooting foul (David N'Guessan draws the foul)
9:49		David N'Guessan misses regular free throw 1 of 1
9:49		Great Osobor defensive rebound
9:39		Keyontae Johnson blocks Robert Ford III's two point layup
9:37		Keyontae Johnson defensive rebound
9:21	+2	Markquis Nowell makes two point layup (Desi Sills assists)	16-20
9:03		Keyontae Johnson personal foul (Great Osobor draws the foul)
9:01	+2	Great Osobor makes two point dunk (Darius Brown II assists)	18-20
8:29	+3	Markquis Nowell makes three point jump shot (David N'Guessan assists)	18-23
8:13	+3	RaeQuan Battle makes three point jump shot	21-23
7:58		David N'Guessan misses three point jump shot
7:56		Great Osobor defensive rebound
7:42		Sam Lecholat turnover (lost ball) (Markquis Nowell steals)
7:36	+2	Keyontae Johnson makes two point dunk (Markquis Nowell assists)	21-25
7:16		Great Osobor turnover (bad pass)
7:16		TV timeout
6:59	+2	Keyontae Johnson makes two point layup	21-27
6:37		Caleb Fuller misses two point layup
6:35		Caleb Fuller offensive rebound
6:33	+2	Caleb Fuller makes two point layup	23-27
6:18		RaeQuan Battle shooting foul (Desi Sills draws the foul)
6:18	+1	Desi Sills makes regular free throw 1 of 2	23-28
6:18		Desi Sills misses regular free throw 2 of 2
6:18		Bobcats defensive rebound
5:54		Tyler Patterson misses three point jump shot
5:52		Keyontae Johnson defensive rebound
5:32		Keyontae Johnson turnover (bad pass) (Robert Ford III steals)
5:26		Darius Brown II misses three point jump shot
5:24		Desi Sills defensive rebound
5:22		Desi Sills offensive foul
5:22		Desi Sills turnover (offensive foul)
5:17		Ismael Massoud shooting foul (Jubrile Belo draws the foul)
5:17		Jubrile Belo misses regular free throw 1 of 2
5:17		Jubrile Belo misses regular free throw 2 of 2
5:17		Keyontae Johnson defensive rebound
4:59		Keyontae Johnson misses two point jump shot
4:57		Tykei Greene offensive rebound
4:39		Markquis Nowell misses two point layup
4:37		Desi Sills offensive rebound
4:35		Jump ball. Desi Sills vs. Caleb Fuller (Bobcats gains possession)
4:35		Desi Sills turnover (lost ball) (Caleb Fuller steals)
4:15		Darius Brown II misses two point layup
4:13		Great Osobor offensive rebound
4:07		Great Osobor turnover (bad pass)
3:52		Keyontae Johnson misses two point jump shot
3:50		Caleb Fuller defensive rebound
3:32	+2	Great Osobor makes two point jump shot (Darius Brown II assists)	25-28
3:02	+2	David N'Guessan makes two point layup (Markquis Nowell assists)	25-30
2:39		Tyler Patterson turnover (lost ball) (Desi Sills steals)
2:39		TV timeout
2:11		Markquis Nowell misses three point jump shot
2:09		Darius Brown II defensive rebound
2:04		Tyler Patterson misses three point jump shot
2:02		Keyontae Johnson defensive rebound
2:01		Great Osobor personal foul (Keyontae Johnson draws the foul)
1:38	+2	Cam Carter makes two point layup (Markquis Nowell assists)	25-32
1:03		Robert Ford III misses two point jump shot
1:01		Keyontae Johnson defensive rebound
0:55	+2	Markquis Nowell makes two point layup	25-34
0:52		Bobcats 30 second timeout
0:27	+2	Darius Brown II makes two point layup	27-34
0:27		Ismael Massoud shooting foul (Darius Brown II draws the foul)
0:27		Darius Brown II misses regular free throw 1 of 1
0:27		Desi Sills defensive rebound
0:16		Wildcats 30 second timeout
0:08		Markquis Nowell turnover (lost ball) (Robert Ford III steals)
0:04		Desi Sills shooting foul (Robert Ford III draws the foul)
0:04	+1	Robert Ford III makes regular free throw 1 of 2	28-34
0:04		Robert Ford III misses regular free throw 2 of 2
0:04		Wildcats defensive rebound
0:00		End of period

2nd Half
MTST
Bobcats
37
KSU
Wildcats
43

Time		Play	Score
19:50	+2	Nae'Qwan Tomlin makes two point layup (Markquis Nowell assists)	28-36
19:28	+2	RaeQuan Battle makes two point jump shot	30-36
19:05		Nae'Qwan Tomlin misses three point jump shot
19:03		Bobcats defensive rebound
18:43	+2	RaeQuan Battle makes two point jump shot (Jubrile Belo assists)	32-36
18:11	+2	Markquis Nowell makes two point jump shot	32-38
17:53		Robert Ford III offensive foul
17:53		Robert Ford III turnover (offensive foul)
17:41		Keyontae Johnson misses three point jump shot
17:39		Jubrile Belo defensive rebound
17:30		Desi Sills personal foul
17:25		RaeQuan Battle misses three point jump shot
17:23		Cam Carter defensive rebound
17:11	+2	Keyontae Johnson makes two point layup	32-40
16:50		Darius Brown II misses three point jump shot
16:48		Nae'Qwan Tomlin defensive rebound
16:38	+2	Nae'Qwan Tomlin makes two point layup	32-42
16:28		Bobcats 30 second timeout
16:28		TV timeout
16:17		Darius Brown II turnover (bad pass) (Nae'Qwan Tomlin steals)
16:11		Ismael Massoud turnover (lost ball) (Robert Ford III steals)
16:06	+2	Darius Brown II makes two point layup	34-42
15:49	+2	Nae'Qwan Tomlin makes two point layup	34-44
15:25		Nae'Qwan Tomlin personal foul
15:25		TV timeout
15:22		RaeQuan Battle misses two point jump shot
15:20		Bobcats offensive rebound
15:12	+2	Jubrile Belo makes two point jump shot (Darius Brown II assists)	36-44
14:44		Great Osobor blocks David N'Guessan's two point layup
14:42		Robert Ford III defensive rebound
14:33		Robert Ford III misses three point jump shot
14:30		Bobcats offensive rebound
14:20		Robert Ford III misses three point jump shot
14:18		RaeQuan Battle offensive rebound
14:01		Darius Brown II turnover (bad pass) (Markquis Nowell steals)
13:54	+2	Keyontae Johnson makes two point layup (Markquis Nowell assists)	36-46
13:35		Darius Brown II misses three point jump shot
13:33		Keyontae Johnson defensive rebound
13:27		Jubrile Belo shooting foul (Cam Carter draws the foul)
13:27		Cam Carter misses regular free throw 1 of 2
13:27	+1	Cam Carter makes regular free throw 2 of 2	36-47
13:05		Tyler Patterson misses three point jump shot
13:03		Wildcats defensive rebound
12:49		Jump ball. Keyontae Johnson vs. Jubrile Belo (Bobcats gains possession)
12:49		Keyontae Johnson turnover (lost ball) (Jubrile Belo steals)
12:26		Jubrile Belo misses two point hook shot
12:24		Markquis Nowell defensive rebound
12:18		Desi Sills misses three point jump shot
12:16		Great Osobor defensive rebound
12:02		RaeQuan Battle misses three point jump shot
11:59		Wildcats defensive rebound
11:59		TV timeout
11:46		Ismael Massoud misses three point jump shot
11:44		Darius Brown II defensive rebound
11:13		RaeQuan Battle misses two point jump shot
11:11		Bobcats turnover (shot clock violation)
10:58		Keyontae Johnson misses two point jump shot
10:57		Abayomi Iyiola offensive rebound
10:57		Great Osobor personal foul
10:56	+2	Desi Sills makes two point layup (Keyontae Johnson assists)	36-49
10:40		Darius Brown II turnover (bad pass) (Abayomi Iyiola steals)
10:32		Markquis Nowell turnover (bad pass)
10:13		Abayomi Iyiola shooting foul (Jubrile Belo draws the foul)
10:13		Jubrile Belo misses regular free throw 1 of 2
10:13	+1	Jubrile Belo makes regular free throw 2 of 2	37-49
10:02		Markquis Nowell turnover (bad pass) (Great Osobor steals)
9:59	+2	RaeQuan Battle makes two point layup (Darius Brown II assists)	39-49
9:36		Jubrile Belo personal foul
9:35		Great Osobor blocks Keyontae Johnson's two point jump shot
9:33		Keyontae Johnson offensive rebound
9:24	+2	Cam Carter makes two point layup	39-51
9:07		Markquis Nowell shooting foul (Great Osobor draws the foul)
9:07		Great Osobor misses regular free throw 1 of 2
9:07	+1	Great Osobor makes regular free throw 2 of 2	40-51
8:56		Sam Lecholat personal foul
8:45		Desi Sills turnover (bad pass) (RaeQuan Battle steals)
8:37		Markquis Nowell personal foul
8:30		Darius Brown II misses three point jump shot
8:28		Bobcats offensive rebound
8:26	+3	Nick Gazelas makes three point jump shot (Darius Brown II assists)	43-51
8:05	+3	Markquis Nowell makes three point jump shot (Keyontae Johnson assists)	43-54
7:46		Darius Brown II turnover (bad pass)
7:46		TV timeout
7:31	+2	Nae'Qwan Tomlin makes two point layup (Markquis Nowell assists)	43-56
7:20	+2	Great Osobor makes two point dunk (Darius Brown II assists)	45-56
6:52	+2	Desi Sills makes two point layup (Markquis Nowell assists)	45-58
6:43		Desi Sills shooting foul (RaeQuan Battle draws the foul)
6:43	+1	RaeQuan Battle makes regular free throw 1 of 2	46-58
6:43	+1	RaeQuan Battle makes regular free throw 2 of 2	47-58
6:25		Markquis Nowell misses three point jump shot
6:23		Jubrile Belo defensive rebound
6:08	+3	Darius Brown II makes three point jump shot (Nick Gazelas assists)	50-58
5:50		Great Osobor personal foul
5:50	+1	Keyontae Johnson makes regular free throw 1 of 2	50-59
5:50	+1	Keyontae Johnson makes regular free throw 2 of 2	50-60
5:50		Wildcats 30 second timeout
5:24	+2	Jubrile Belo makes two point hook shot (Darius Brown II assists)	52-60
5:15		Cam Carter turnover (bad pass)
5:00		Jubrile Belo misses two point layup
4:58		Abayomi Iyiola defensive rebound
4:32	+2	Markquis Nowell makes two point layup	52-62
4:22	+2	Great Osobor makes two point alley-oop dunk (Darius Brown II assists)	54-62
3:51	+2	Keyontae Johnson makes two point jump shot (Markquis Nowell assists)	54-64
3:31		Darius Brown II misses three point jump shot
3:29		Great Osobor offensive rebound
3:22		Nae'Qwan Tomlin shooting foul (RaeQuan Battle draws the foul)
3:22		TV timeout
3:22	+1	RaeQuan Battle makes regular free throw 1 of 2	55-64
3:22	+1	RaeQuan Battle makes regular free throw 2 of 2	56-64
3:03	+2	Nae'Qwan Tomlin makes two point layup (Desi Sills assists)	56-66
3:03		Nick Gazelas shooting foul (Nae'Qwan Tomlin draws the foul)
3:03	+1	Nae'Qwan Tomlin makes regular free throw 1 of 1	56-67
2:46	+3	Darius Brown II makes three point jump shot	59-67
2:44		Bobcats 30 second timeout
2:30	+2	Nae'Qwan Tomlin makes two point dunk (Markquis Nowell assists)	59-69
2:14		Darius Brown II turnover (lost ball) (David N'Guessan steals)
2:14		Darius Brown II flagrant 1
2:14	+1	David N'Guessan makes flagrant free throw 1 of 2	59-70
2:14	+1	David N'Guessan makes flagrant free throw 2 of 2	59-71
2:13	+2	David N'Guessan makes two point layup (Keyontae Johnson assists)	59-73
2:03		Nick Gazelas misses three point jump shot
2:01		Markquis Nowell defensive rebound
1:57	+2	Desi Sills makes two point dunk (Markquis Nowell assists)	59-75
1:45	+3	RaeQuan Battle makes three point jump shot	62-75
1:11		Markquis Nowell misses three point jump shot
1:09		Nick Gazelas defensive rebound
1:03		David N'Guessan shooting foul (RaeQuan Battle draws the foul)
1:03		RaeQuan Battle misses regular free throw 1 of 3
1:03		RaeQuan Battle misses regular free throw 2 of 3
1:03	+1	RaeQuan Battle makes regular free throw 3 of 3	63-75
0:39		Jubrile Belo shooting foul (Ismael Massoud draws the foul)
0:39	+1	Ismael Massoud makes regular free throw 1 of 2	63-76
0:39	+1	Ismael Massoud makes regular free throw 2 of 2	63-77
0:30	+2	Jed Miller makes two point bank jump shot	65-77
0:00		End of period

+ 2

Jed Miller makes two point bank jump shot