Live from Puerto Rico: K-State 80, Boston 70

Rodney McGruder is starting to look like a marksman.

The freshman guard came off the bench Thursday in Puerto Rico and knocked down four of five three-point shots and led all Kansas State scorers with 20 points.

His big night couldn't have come at a better time. Play was sloppy throughout at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico, and K-State's best two veteran guards (Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen) didn't play well. But behind McGruder and some tough second play, the Wildcats pushed past Boston University for an 80-70 victory in its first game of the Puerto Rico Tip-off.

Based on McGruder's start to the season (he is now 9 of 12 from behind the arc) he is emerging as K-State's best outside shooter.

His best skill appears to be simply getting open. Sure, he's got a fantastic shooting stroke and makes knocking down treys seem effortless. But I don't think I've seen him shoot a heavily contested three-pointer this season.

Neither has Pullen.

"He was shooting the ball in from open spots," Pullen said. "That's what we practice."

Coach Frank Martin said McGruder gave K-State a nice lift on Thursday.

With Pullen making only four shots and Clemente nervously clanking nine in front of his home crowd, his shots were needed.

If he keeps it up, and Clemente and Pullen get back to their usual production, the Wildcats should be able to play an improved game against Ole Miss at 7:30 tonight and make a run at the tournament's championship game.

Emptying the notebook
-- The Coliseo de Puerto Rico didn't attract many fans for the first day of this tournament (announced attendance was 5,073) but K-State was well represented in that number.

A good number of students made the trip and a plane full of boosters flew over with the Wildcats basketball team. Before the game they were very rowdy and a few fans took turns leading the KSU Wildcats cheer near press row.

In all, the purple-clad fans numbered about 250. Forty or so were there solely to see Clemente play.

-- McGruder's only three-point miss came on the final possession of the game, when trying to beat the shot clock from way outside.

-- Wally Judge did not score in 10 minutes of action.

-- Curtis Kelly and Jordan Henriquez-Roberts combined for 17 rebounds.

-- Today's game against Ole Miss will match Martin up against good friend and Rebels coach Andy Kennedy. When asked about Kennedy, Martin said he was one of the best people "in the world."

Player of the game: Rodney McGruder. The freshman won the game for the Wildcats with his smooth shooting touch.

Play of the game: Jamar Samuels drove the lane, rose above two Boston defenders and thew down an athletic two-handed dunk that sparked a nice K-State run in the second half. It was the slam of the season, no doubt.

Do this again: Get your opponent in foul trouble. Boston's starting five had 15 combined fouls at the end of the first half.

Try to avoid: K-State still needs to work on its free-throw shooting. It made 28 of 44 on Thursday.

Bottom Line: K-State could have played better offensively and won by a bigger margin. But it was nice to see a few players come up big to help out the team. And in a tournament setting, a win in that first game is always big.