Wichita State holds off UNLV 56-50 (+videos)

March is three months away, too far for Wichita State to admit it’s too worried about the NCAA selection day. Their injury-plagued start to the season, however, caused damage too significant to ignore.

This week represented a chance to repair that damage and the Shockers started with a 56-50 win over UNLV on Wednesday at Koch Arena.

“Big-picture-wise, we need to start stringing together some wins, or even just some respectable play,” WSU guard Fred VanVleet said. “We knew it was a big week.”

The Shockers (4-4) survived a miserable shooting night with what coach Gregg Marshall called throwback defense — forcing 19 turnovers — careful ball-handling and a first-half burst of brilliance by VanVleet. He scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half to push the Shockers ahead. While the Rebels threatened late, they never fully recovered from the first half.

“How many times were we in there handsy, deflecting the ball, the ball is loose on the floor?” Marshall said. “That game was won on the defensive end with heart, determination, toughness.”

WSU won its 35th straight home game and 34th straight home non-conference game.

The Rebels (7-2) had a four-game win streak snapped, one that included victories over Indiana and Oregon, both ranked at the time.

UNLV entered the game averaging 83.1 points and making 46.7 percent of its shots. WSU held the Rebels to their lowest point total and lowest shooting percentage (40.4) of the season.

Marshall enjoyed recounting Evan Wessel fighting for loose balls and taking charges. Zach Brown recorded two steals. Rauno Nurger walled up to stop a drive to the basket. VanVleet harrassed UNLV center Stephen Zimmerman into at least two of his four turnovers.

“We got back to playing the way we normally play,” VanVleet said. “We’ve got to get stops and we did that tonight.”

WSU’s Conner Frankamp made his long-awaited debut, becoming eligible when his first-semester grades posted and ended a full redshirt year after transferring from Kansas. Frankamp made two free throws with 20.2 seconds to play for a 54-50 lead. Frankamp scored two points, missing all five of his shots.

WSU shot 38 percent from the field, missed 15 of 18 three-pointers. It entered the game making 75 percent of its foul shots and bricked its way to an unsightly 11 of 22, a lapse that gave the Rebels hope late into the game.

Zimmerman led UNLV with 11 points. The Rebels committed 19 turnovers and WSU scored 17 points off those turnovers.

After Frankamp’s free throws, the Rebels wasted two possessions and the Shockers, with great struggle, sealed the game at the line.

UNLV’s Ike Nwamu dribbled out of control into a jumpball turnover. After a UNLV miss, Ron Baker rebounded and made two free throws with 3.1 seconds to play for a six-point lead.

UNLV cut the lead to 47-44 with a 7-0 run, prompting a WSU timeout with 4:48 to play. Shaq Morris responded with an offensive rebound and a pass to Markis McDuffie, cutting through the lane, for a layup and a 49-44 lead. UNLV’s press frazzled the Shockers, twice forcing VanVleet to loose the ball, and the Rebels got within 49-46.

A layup by Brown, called goaltending when a UNLV defender slapped the backboard, put WSU up 51-46.

Both teams struggled through the early minutes of the second half. WSU crept to a 36-26 lead despite missing 9 of its first 10 shots and two free throws. A three-pointer from the top of the key by Zach Brown gave WSU a 10-point lead before UNLV’s 7-3 run cut the lead to 39-33.

VanVleet spun a series of ball-screen dissections of UNLV’s defense in the first half. He sliced past trailing big men for layups and shot over them when a slower defender switched to guard him. The Shockers led 20-8 after a three-pointer and his layup capped a 14-2 run for a 22-8 lead.

After a three-pointer by UNLV’s Jalen Poyser, VanVleet drove and scored again for a 24-11 lead.

Three empty possessions and a missed free throw by Baker helped the Rebels cut the lead to 27-20 on Zimmerman’s dunk. VanVleet dribbled through four defenders for a layup and Zimmerman dunked again. VanVleet gave WSU a 31-22 halftime lead by finding Rauno Nurger in the lane for a layup.

The Shockers built their lead with 13 points off 10 UNLV turnovers. WSU committed four first-half turnovers against the Rebels, who force 19.2 turnovers a game. That careful ball-handling kept the Rebels from running for easy baskets. Their work against WSU’s half-court defense produced frustration after they made 9 of 24 shots in the first half.

This story was originally published December 9, 2015 at 10:20 PM with the headline "Wichita State holds off UNLV 56-50 (+videos)."