Shockers toughen up to beat Redbirds 68-62

Wichita State guard Fred VanVleet finished his interview responsibilities with his hometown media and limped down the hallway, right ankle wrapped in ice, to meet with family and friends.

The scene summed up No. 15 Wichita State’s 68-62 win over Illinois State at Redbird Arena in many ways. Toughness and experience prevailed, but it wasn’t easy. The Shockers never trailed, but it took a supreme effort on the backboards and at the foul line to beat back the Redbirds.

“That needs to be our calling card — defending — and the last part of defending is rebounding,” VanVleet said. “For the most part, we did our job on that end. We can’t give a team like that second and third chances.”

WSU (23-3, 13-1 MVC) defeated Illinois State for the seventh straight time and a fifth in Redbird Arena. Illinois State (15-11, 7-7) lost its third straight game. The Shockers moved a half-game ahead of No. 13 Northern Iowa atop the Missouri Valley Conference with four games remaining. The Panthers play at Missouri State on Sunday.

The Shockers escaped in what may be their toughest remaining road game by outscoring the Redbirds by 14 points at the foul line. WSU outrebounded the Redbirds 40-26 and scored 15 second-chance points on 16 offensive rebounds.

“We knew we needed to come out and rebound, but we didn’t go as hard as we should have,” Illinois State center Reggie Lynch said. “We didn’t come out with enough fire to get those rebounds.”

WSU also won because it scored on six of its final seven possessions after the Redbirds cut the lead to 56-54 with 3:19 remaining. To that point, it committed 14 turnovers and helped Illinois State rally from an 11-point deficit with a stretch of poor shooting mixed with a bad decision or two.

When it came to winning time, the Shockers executed.

The Shockers knocked Illinois State permanently off-stride with a nice bit of ball movement late in the shot clock through a zone defense. Tekele Cotton drew the defense and passed to VanVleet, who drove and found Evan Wessel for a layup, beating the shot clock by a four ticks, and a 62-56 lead with 58 seconds to play.

“We knew they were going to come out in zone,” Wessel said. “We were able to work 30 seconds off and work the defense. Then Fred was able to get the ball to me for a layup.”

Experience. Execution. That play wrapped it all up for the Shockers.

“That play kind of sums up our group,” VanVleet said. “I think everybody touched the ball in that possession. I saw Evan and just kind of slid it to him.”

After a Redbird miss, Wessel made two free throws with 39.9 seconds to play for a 64-56 lead. Wessel made two more and Ron Baker added two in the final minute to hold off the Redbirds and DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, who made two threes in the final 25 seconds. WSU made 8 of 10 free throws in the final 2:41.

Baker grabbed two offensive rebounds in the final three minutes, both of which led to scores. Cotton grabbed 10 rebounds to tie his career-high.

“We couldn’t get rebounds, and that’s why we lost,” Illinois State coach Dan Muller said.

Baker scored 19 points to lead WSU and VanVleet added 15. Wessel scored 12. Akoon-Purcell scored 18 point for the Redbirds, 15 in the second half. Lynch added 10 before fouling out. Guard Daishon Knight, Illinois State’s leading scorer, didn’t score.

Wessel made 2 of 4 three-pointers and reached double figures for the first time since he scored 15 against Saint Louis on Dec. 6. The baskets came at an opportune time for the Shockers. Baker missed 4 of 6 threes and VanVleet missed all four of his attempts. The Redbirds chose to ignore Wessel to focus their defense on other Shockers.

“You can see how much more the floor was spaced out when he was knocking them down,” VanVleet said. “He’s a good shooter. It’s just a matter of getting his feet set and knocking them down.”

Knocking them down. That’s what the Shockers usually do on the road. After a loss at Northern Iowa and a subpar effort at Bradley, they returned to form with a win over a strong and motivated opponent.

This story was originally published February 14, 2015 at 7:30 PM with the headline "Shockers toughen up to beat Redbirds 68-62."