Kansas State Athletics
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Michael Beasley's return to Bramlage Coliseum didn't disappoint on Tuesday night, as the former All-American paced four players in double figures with a game-high 20 points in Purple Reign's 80-61 win over JHX Hoops in the first game of a best-of-3 series between the two alumni teams before a raucous crowd of 3,192 fans.
Beasley was joined in double figures by Xavier Sneed (16 points) and Austin Trice (16 points), while Shaun Williams added 15 points off the bench. Former Wake Forest guard Brandon Childress had a game-high 7 assists and 5 steals to go with 7 points.
In his first game in Bramlage Coliseum nearly two decades since his record-setting freshman season of 2007-08, Beasley reminded fans of his sensational basketball abilities, scoring his 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including 2-of-8 from 3-point range, and 6-of-9 free throws to go with 6 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 blocks while playing 30 minutes.
Purple Reign shot better than 51 percent (30-of-58) from the field with 21 assists off 30 made field goals. They also took advantage of 19 turnovers to score 26 points.
The JHX Hoops squad was led by Billy Preston's 15 points and game-high 7 rebounds. Zeke Mayo chipped in 12 points, while Jacob Hanna and Frank Mason III each had 10 points.
Purple Reign never trailed in the game, seizing the momentum from the tip and jumping out to a 10-1 lead behind a combined 8 points between Beasley and Sneed. JHX Hoops closed to within 13-9 after a Preston 3-pointer with 3:03 left but the home team scored 10 of the last 14 points to go ahead 23-13 after one quarter.
Purple Reign slowly pulled away in the second quarter, using a 14-2 run capped by a Williams dunk to extend the lead to its largest at 37-19 with 3:40 before halftime. The lead stayed in double digits until late in the third quarter when JHX Hoops closed to within 55-47 with 50 seconds remaining.
The lead was 59-51 in the early portion of the fourth quarter before 6 straight points gave Purple Reign a 14-point (65-51) lead with 6:25 to play. With less than 4-minutes remaining and the lead at 72-59, the Elam Ending was activated with a target score of 80. The squad scored 8 of the last 10 points, including the last 4 by Childress, for the final 80-61 score.
The best-of-3 series continues on Wednesday night at Lee Arena in Topeka. Tip is set for 7 p.m., CT and will be broadcast on FS2.