K-State notes: Malek Harris gets more playing time because of injury to Nino Williams
K-State freshman forward Malek Harris was thrown into Tuesday’s game so quickly that he didn’t have time to think about it.
Harris jumped onto the floor in place of an injured Nino Williams and scored six points in 29 minutes.
“Maybe it is because I play against those guys every day and I play at a high level in practice, but I know they have confidence in me,” Harris said. “I have confidence in me. I don’t try to look at myself as a freshman. I just try to play basketball.”
Harris said playing extended minutes against West Virginia will help him when he next takes the court Saturday against Kansas, regardless of how much he plays.
“I just want to play and play hard and do something good,” Harris said.
Praising Bramlage
West Virginia basketball players were impressed with the crowd at Bramlage Coliseum.
“It was a great atmosphere,” West Virginia guard Jevon Carter said. “The crowd was very loud. At times it felt like the crowd was out there on the court with you. It was a good experience.”
Winning in front of a sellout crowd of 12,528 added to the victory.
“I thought the crowd was great,” added Gary Browne. “At one point when we were moving the ball the crowd got so loud that I couldn’t hear anything. Then Juwan ends up getting a bucket. That is what you live for. You live to win games in environments like this.”
First half
Key play: Elijah Macon converted a put-back layup and gave West Virginia a 26-19 lead.
Key stat: There were a higher number of fouls and turnovers (52) than points (50).
Second half
Key play: Juwan Staten hit a jumper that put West Virginia ahead 53-48 with 5:39 to go.
Key stat: K-State made 10 of 22 free throws.
To reach Kellis Robinett, send email to krobinett@kcstar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KellisRobinett.
This story was originally published January 27, 2015 at 11:38 PM with the headline "K-State notes: Malek Harris gets more playing time because of injury to Nino Williams."