National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Kansas St. 77, Long Beach St. 60
When: 9:30 PM ET, Sunday, December 25, 2011
Where: Stan Sheriff Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
Officials: # Don Daily, # M Green, # Terry Moore
Attendance: 6270

Rodney McGruder recorded a career-high 28 points, making 10-of-11 from the field, as Kansas State cruised to a 77-60 victory over Long Beach State in the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic Sunday in Honolulu.

Will Spradling matched his career high with 17 points and Jamar Samuels added 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Wildcats (10-1), who extended their win streak to five games.

McGruder was named the tournament MVP.

Casper Ware and Larry Anderson each registered 17 points for Long Beach State (7-6), which never got closer than 10 points in the second half. Ware, the 49ers’ leading scorer was 5-of-18 from the field. The 60 points was a season low for Long Beach.

Kansas State scored nine of the game’s first 11 points and led by as many as 16 before settling for a 40-28 halftime advantage. McGruder was 5-for-5 from the field, including two 3-pointers, to lead the way with 12 points in the opening 20 minutes for the Wildcats.

Long Beach State, which has wins over nationally-ranked Pittsburgh and Xavier, committed 10 of its 14 turnovers in the first half. Anderson hit two 3-pointers and scored nine before halftime to lead the 49ers.
Top Game Performances
 
Long Beach St.   Kansas St.
Larry Anderson 17 Scoring Rodney McGruder 28
Larry Anderson 4 Assists Jamar Samuels 4
Mike Caffey 9 Rebounds Jamar Samuels 8
Casper Ware 5 Free Throws Made Rodney McGruder 6
Larry Anderson 1 Steals Rodney McGruder 1
Edis Dervisevic 1 Blocks Jordan Henriquez 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Long Beach St. 60 36.8 6-19 12-21 10 31 3 4 14
Kansas St. 77 50.0 5-13 20-26 14 34 5 4 13