The Kansas State alumni team is eliminated from the basketball tournament after losing to Colorado.
The Kansas State alumni team entered this year’s edition of The Basketball Tournament with great hopes and a new moniker, but Purple Reign was unable to proceed past the first round of competition. On Saturday, Team Colorado upset the Purple Reign 71-67 in an interesting back-and-forth battle at Koch Arena. Andre Roberson won it for Team Colorado with a layup on the final play of the day, pushing his team past the Elam Ending goal score of 70. Purple Reign’s departure from the competition was disappointing. The former Wildcats lost multiple chances to win until Team Colorado surged ahead in the dying minutes. “I feel like we were prepared, but we went out the way we did,” Purple Reign coach Jordan Henriquez said. “We have not lost in the first round in several years. We also have a very deep roster. “We will definitely return next year.”
He opened the quarter with a flurry of long 3-pointers, giving the Purple Reign an early lead. However, he was unable to maintain his blazing start, finishing the game with only four field goals on 12 attempts. The majority of the Purple Reign’s scoring the rest of the way came from Kamau Stokes, who ended with four threes and 14 points. Cartier Diarra and former Oklahoma State player Yor Anei each scored seven points for the Purple Reign. Former Kansas State players Dajuan Gordon and Justin Edwards each scored five.
D’Shawn Schwartz led Team Colorado with 21. Despite the loss, Pullen stated that it was enjoyable to play in front of K-State supporters. “It’s always great,” Pullen added. “That is the primary reason why we do this. We also get to see people we haven’t seen in a while. It’s a time for us to reconnect, build our brotherhood, and simply have some fun. Unfortunately, everything did not go as planned, but I did appreciate seeing everyone.
