Wichita State turns up pressure in second half against SIU

Maybe this is just Wichita State’s version of the rope-a-dope.

Lull the opponent to sleep ... make them think they have a chance ... then lights out.

However you want to look at it, the Shockers’ late-season wins are starting to take over a decidedly familiar pattern. The last three games, WSU has found itself up by single digits at halftime and ended up with a double-digit win.

The latest victim was Southern Illinois in a 56-45 loss to No. 8 WSU on Friday in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinals after the Salukis trailed 28-20 at halftime.

“There were three possessions, about midway through the second half, where we were down eight and I thought if we could just get a basket, we could make a run at this,” Southern Illinois coach Barry Hinson said. “But then they hit a big shot and that made things hard on us. After that, we just panicked.”

Indeed, the Salukis kept things close for the first part of the second half, but after a layup by Rashard Kelly put WSU ahead 46-35 with 8:18 left, Southern Illinois was never able to get the Shockers’ lead under 10.

“First half, we come out and we’re trying to work on some things, trying to execute off the (scouting report),” said WSU forward Shaq Morris, who scored eight points. “Second half, we know how the other team is going to play us and we just attack what we saw. Trying to execute, though, is the main focus.”

What’s most compelling about the Shockers’ latest winning trend is that it hasn’t necessarily been a thread throughout the whole season. WSU (28-3) has turned a single-digit halftime lead into a double-digit win each of the last three games, but only did it five times in the 28 games before that.

WSU’s most common way it wins games has been a double-digit lead at halftime equaling a double-digit win, which it has done 12 times. Only twice — in wins over Seton Hall and Bradley —did a double-digit lead at halftime turn into a single-digit win.

“I think we’re just starting to turn the pressure up a little bit,” WSU forward Rashard Kelly said. “It’s not a good thing to play that way in the first half, to let teams in it, but every team is going to come out and do their best. Nobody is going to lay down for you.”

That was evident on Friday, when Southern Illinois (12-21), the MVC’s ninth-place team, traded leads with the Shockers for the first 10 minutes.

“I don’t think we’re going to come out in the first couple of minutes and be up by 20, ever,” said WSU guard Tekele Cotton, who scored 12 points. “We’ve got to break teams down to get to that point. Southern Illinois is a tough team, they played great basketball today and never laid down.”

“We’re focused on the win, and if we ever blow people out, that’s a bonus. But it’s not going to happen right out of the gate, not in the first couple of minutes of the game. You have to build up to it.”

This story was originally published March 6, 2015 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Wichita State turns up pressure in second half against SIU."