MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Barry Brown had 15 points, Justin Edwards scored all eight of his points in the second half, and Kansas State beat North Dakota 63-49 on Tuesday night.

Wesley Iwundu added 11 points with five rebounds and three assists for Kansas State (9-2). Five players scored eight points or more for the Wildcats.

Drick Bernstine had 13 points and 13 rebounds to lead North Dakota(5-6), which was without leading scorer Quinton Hooker due to a foot injury.

Poor shooting plagued both Kansas State and North Dakota in the first half as the two teams combined to shoot 18 of 50 from the field to go along with 19 turnovers. The start echoed Kansas State’s cold shooting in its last win over Colorado State. The Wildcats trailed 8-4 before striking an 11-0 run.

North Dakota had five consecutive scores to take a 19-15 lead with 5:13 left in the first half. Kansas State closed the first half on a 9-2 run to take a 24-21 halftime lead.

A trio of 3-pointers early in the second half from Kamau Stokes and Edwards sparked an 11-0 run to stretch the Wildcats’ lead to 38-27 with 15:12 left. North Dakota pulled to 51-46 with less than five minutes to play.

An Iwundu offensive rebound, one of 20 for Kansas State, led to a put-back to give the Wildcats a 10-point lead with 1:18 left.

TIP-INS

Kansas State: The first meeting between the two teams came in Bruce Weber’s first game as coach of the Wildcats, an 85-52 win at home on Nov. 9, 2012. . D.J. Johnson scored six points and grabbed seven rebounds after missing the second half against Colorado State on Dec. 19 due to aggravating a foot injury that caused him to miss all of last season.

North Dakota: Returns two starters from a team that posted an 8-22 record last season. . Quinton Hooker was averaging 17 points per game before injuring his foot, and had scored in double figures in 16 straight games dating back to last season.

UP NEXT

Kansas State hosts Saint Louis on Dec. 29.

North Dakota hosts Idaho on Dec. 31.

— Associated Press —