Kansas State basketball looks to build on Bahamas trip against Central Arkansas
MANHATTAN — As disappointing as Sunday's loss to Miami in the Baha Mar Hoops Championship finals was for his Kansas State basketball team, Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang saw some silver linings as well.
For one, the Wildcats came back from a 24-point deficit and got as close as seven at the end before falling 91-83 to the No. 11-ranked Hurricanes. And don't forget that they reached the championship game by beating a veteran Providence team in overtime, 73-70.
"We've seen growth from multiple guys. And you have to go through these fires," said Tang, whose Wildcats (3-2) are back in action at 7 p.m. Wednesday when they play host to Central Arkansas (1-4) at Bramlage Coliseum. "Champions get punched, too.
"The things is, can you take a punch and keep moving forward, and I thought we took some punches. You expect a team down 20 to get knocked out, but we didn't. We kept fighting. And so that's the character of our team. I'm very, very, proud of them."
Even though they never threatened to overtake Miami, the Wildcats showed by rallying with a 55-point second half that they belonged on the floor with the Hurricanes. And they showed it while playing shorthanded.
Related: Kansas State basketball team isn't headed to the Bahamas for fun in the sun
Freshman point guard Dai Dai Ames, who had 10 points and four assists against Providence, missed the Miami game after he was ejected in the closing seconds against the Friars. Transfer guard Ques Glover is out until mid-December or early January with a knee injury and returning starter Nae'Qwan Tomlin is indefinitely suspended after his arrest last month for a fight in a Manhattan bar.
That is why Tang saw the tournament as a win-win in the grand scheme of things.
"This was huge for us," he said. "We found out against Providence that Dai Dai can play in a high-major game, 36 minutes, and then (in the Miami game) we found out (freshman forward Macaleab) Rich can play in this environment.
"What we need is that type of consistent effort to show in practice, so they show that they can do. I don't believe in gamers. I believe in every-day, every-play guys. That is what we want to develop here and what our program's going to stand on."
The Central Arkansas game could provide an opportunity for further growth from the Wildcats. The Bears lost in the closing seconds, 70-68, Monday at Southeast Missouri to fall to 1-4. Their lone victory was a blowout of Hendrix, but they did take Vanderbilt to the wire on the road before falling, 75-73.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State basketball returns home to take on Central Arkansas
