MANHATTAN — A small crowd in Bramlage Coliseum and possibly some hangover effect from Saturday night’s football game didn’t send the Kansas State basketball team on the court overflowing with energy.
The Wildcats muddled along most of the first half before D.J. Johnson and Thomas Gipson provided a boost off the bench to ignite an 81-51 exhibition win over Emporia State on Sunday.
“I think it was your typical second exhibition game,” coach Bruce Weber said. “The first one, they’re all fired up to have a chance to play somebody else.
“This was a great teaching moment for us because we didn’t have energy in the locker room. We talked that it’s one o’clock Sunday afternoon, 70 degrees and people are still hanging out from last night’s great football win. You have to create your own energy.”
Johnson, a 6-foot-8 freshman, had 17 points and nine rebounds and Gipson, who had limited playing time in the first outing against Washburn, responded with 12 points and five rebounds.
“Me and (Gipson) talked when we were ready to go in that we wanted to play hard and pick it up a little bit,” Johnson said. “Going against guys every day in practice helps me a lot, just playing hard against the guys because we go at it.
“I’m still learning the offense, learning to step out and screen more rather than just posting, which is what I’m used to.”
Both teams got off to a sluggish start, but Emporia State put together a 9-0 run, capped by Gavin Brown’s 3-pointer, to take a 19-18 lead with 4:49 left in the half.
Weber called a timeout and whatever he said was just what the Cats needed.
K-State responded with 11 unanswered points and closed with a 20-4 run for a 38-23 halftime lead.
Weber said it wasn’t what he said during the timeout but what he did by putting Johnson and Gipson back on the floor.
“I didn’t say much,” he said. “I subbed, and the next group came in and gave us the energy.
“We didn’t make shots early and got our heads down. Thomas and D.J. came in, and we kept missing shots but they went and got rebounds and we got some things going.”
Gipson scored eight points and Johnson seven in that final push, combining for 24 points in the half.
“I guess we made the game kind of interesting early in the first half,” Hornets coach Shaun Vandiver said. “We got the lead at 19-18 and (Weber) called a timeout and made some adjustments and from that point on took the game over, especially on the boards.
“I have to tip my hat to Gipson and Johnson. They came in and really got after us on the boards and took the game to another level.”
K-State kept rolling after halftime, outscoring the Hornets 22-9 in the first eight minutes to build a 60-32 lead.
Caleb Wright scored 11 points for the Hornets, who wrapped up their exhibition run with losses to Tulsa, Kansas and K-State.
The Wildcats exploited their size advantage to outrebound the Hornets by a 51-26 margin.
“We thought we would have an advantage with our big guys,” Weber said. “They were very active and got to the boards. I liked the 23 offensive rebounds. Last time we had a lot of offensive rebounds, but we gave up 11 defensive rebounds in the second half so we did a better job of controlling the boards on both ends of the court.”
■ The Wildcats again had trouble at the free throw line, going 18 of 31. “Free throws were a little better,” Weber said. “Not where you want it, but we made a little progress.”
■ Eleven Wildcats logged double digits in minutes with Will Spradling playing a team-high 20. “We have competition,” Weber said. “You have to be zipped up and hooked up ready to go every time, otherwise we have someone who will take care of business for you.”
■ K-State opens the regular season against North Dakota at 8 p.m. Friday at Bramlage.