K-State notes: D.J. Johnson gets into action against Maryland-Eastern Shore

Kansas State junior forward D.J. Johnson played in his first game in 602 days on Friday against Maryland-Eastern Shore, checking in with 15:39 left in the first half.

The 6-foot-9 St. Louis native hadn’t played since he broke his foot in an NCAA Tournament loss to Kentucky on March 21, 2014.

“It felt good,” Johnson said. “I have not been out there in awhile and it was good to get back out on the floor, especially with guys that mean a lot to you and a great coaching staff.”

Johnson made an immediate impact. He converted a three-point play on his first offensive possession and grabbed a steal on his first defensive possession. He finished with five points, six rebounds, two steals and one block in 14 minutes.

Under the lights

K-State had plenty of newcomers on the floor against UMES, including two freshman in the starting lineup in Kamau Stokes and St. John, Kan., native Dean Wade, who caught an alley-oop pass from Wesley Iwundu for a two-handed slam on the game’s first offensive possession.

But it was a freshman off the bench — 6-3 guard Barry Brown — who had the biggest impact. Brown scored 17 points in his K-State debut, including three three-pointers. Brown also had a steal and a two-handed dunk in the first half.

“Our young guys are pretty good,” K-State coach Bruce Weber said. “I think there was, maybe, a little hesitancy, a little nerves from some of them to start with, but they did a decent job tonight.”

K-State owns the MEAC

K-State’s win over UMES upped the record to 27-0 against opponents from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. That’s with two more MEAC opponents on the way to Bramlage Coliseum this season with South Carolina State (Nov. 29) and Coppin State (Dec. 9) still left to play.

This story was originally published November 14, 2015 at 12:01 AM with the headline "K-State notes: D.J. Johnson gets into action against Maryland-Eastern Shore."