Kansas State 59, Pindamonhangaba Club 46
Pindamonhangaba, Brazil
9 a.m. CST, Aug. 12, 2012
Who We Played:
After facing members of National Brazilian Basketball (NBB) League in its first two games, the Wildcats played a Pindamonhangaba Club squad, which is the lower division of professional basketball in Brazil.
The game was set up to break up the five-hour bus trip to Rio de Janeiro. Pinda, as it is called by the locals, is located in the northern part of the state of Sao Paulo, about an hour from the team's original hotel in Sao Jose.
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Starting Lineup:
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Top Performers:
- Jordan Henriquez: 13 points (team high), 5-of-5 shooting, made a 3-pointer
- Rodney McGruder: 9 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block
- Adrian Diaz and Nino Williams: 8 points apiece (nice to see them stay consistent)
- Michael Orris: 4 points, 2 assists, 2 steals
- D.J. Johnson: 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block
- Angel Rodriguez: 3 points, 3 steals (tied team high), 2 assists, 2 rebounds
- Thomas Gipson: 6 rebounds (team high)
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What I Liked:
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Balanced scoring continued: After falling behind 2-0 in the first quarter, K-State used a 6-0 run to take a 13-4 lead with points coming from five different players. Junior Shane Southwell was among six different players to score in the quarter with a team-high five points. Ten of 14 players scored overall.
- Charity stripe redux: The Wildcats were solid from the free-throw line, knocking down 9 of 10.
- Decisive start: The squad finished off the quarter with a 17-5 advantage, which included a Henriquez dunk, and a steal and basket by Rodriguez. The lead ballooned to as many as 19 by the end of the second quarter, and the Wildcats scored 12 of 14 points during one stretch.
- Hardcore defense and teamwork: I don't care who you're playing — if you hold them to less than 50 points, especially with the personnel we had out there for a significant period of time, you're doing something very right. Also, the squad was able to post 18 assists on 20 made field goals.
- Putting them away: In the fourth quarter, Pinda once again chipped away at the lead, using a 12-5 run to close the gap to within 46-38 after a long 3-pointer from the corner. However, a Henriquez 3-pointer ignited a 9-0 run to push the lead back to 55-40. Pinda could draw no closer than 12 points the rest of the way in a 59-46 victory.
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A Rodney McGruder sighting: Self-explanatory, I think. Speculation is that the coaching staff is taking it easy on his foot. Besides, this is an ideal time to see what the...
- ...young guns can do: Both Johnson and Orris posted nice stat lines in their first significant action of the trip. This experience will prove to be invaluable for them, I suspect.
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What I Didn't Like:
- Another lackluster third quarter: Pinda outscored K-State, 12-10, in the third quarter as Bruce Weber mixed the line-up, including a significant stretch with senior Henriquez, freshmen Johnson and Orris, and walk-ons Shawn Meyer and Brian Rohleder. Pinda used a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to 38-24 before Henriquez closed the third with three consecutive points.
- Diminished statistics: K-State shot 47.6 percent (20 of 42) from the field, including 25 percent (4 of 16) from 3-point range, to go with 31 rebounds, 18 assists, 15 steals and four blocks.
- Scrub time: I understand Weber had to do it, but playing the freshmen and walk-ons together for significant stretches of time doesn't really accomplish anything for us long term. Yes, it keeps the team fresh, but that lineup will not see meaningful action this season. I would have preferred to see him mix one or two scrubs in with the starters. Still, I'm reaching for something to complain about.
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What Weber Said:
We knew today that the competition was not going to be the strongest, so we wanted to play as many guys as possible. The best part of today was the guys survived a real tough turnaround. We didn’t get back to our hotel until late on Saturday, then we had to get up early this morning to get started to Rio.
We started out pretty good again, then we lost our concentration in the second and third quarter, but Jordan (Henriquez) made some big plays down the stretch to help us pull out the win.
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Who We Play Next:
K-State will play its first game in Rio de Janeiro and the fourth of its 10-day trip to Brazil on Monday against Tijuca Club at 4 p.m. CST.
The traveling party will tour historic Sugar Loaf Mountain in the morning prior to its game, where they will see the Christ Redeemer Statue, among other things.
For updates on the game, follow kstate_gameday on Twitter.