Shocker report: No. 8 Wichita State 56, SIU 45
Friday’s box score
No. 8 Wichita St. 56, S. Illinois 45
S. ILLINOIS | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
Lavender | 35 | 3-6 | 1-1 | 0-2 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
Caroline | 28 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 0-5 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Olaniyan | 21 | 3-5 | 1-1 | 4-6 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
Beane | 36 | 4-14 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
O’Brien | 30 | 1-6 | 2-2 | 2-7 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Pendleton | 24 | 4-9 | 4-6 | 1-6 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
Djimde | 18 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Smithpeters | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Verhines | 4 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Leek | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Totals | 201 | 16-47 | 10-12 | 11-35 | 5 | 14 | 45 |
Percentages: FG .340, FT .833. 3-Point Goals: 3-11, .273 (Beane 2-5, Lavender 1-4, O’Brien 0-2). Team Rebounds: 4. Blocked Shots: 3 (O’Brien 2, Caroline). Turnovers: 18 (Caroline 5, Pendleton 3, O’Brien 3, Olaniyan 2, Lavender, Djimde, Verhines, Beane). Steals: 5 (Pendleton 2, Caroline 2, Olaniyan). Technical Fouls: None.
WICHITA ST. | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
Wessel | 27 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Carter | 21 | 1-5 | 1-2 | 1-4 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
VanVleet | 35 | 4-12 | 4-5 | 0-3 | 4 | 0 | 13 |
Baker | 28 | 3-8 | 2-4 | 2-3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
Cotton | 31 | 3-7 | 5-6 | 0-3 | 3 | 0 | 12 |
Kelly | 13 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Brown | 12 | 4-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
Henderson Jr | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Holland | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Simon | 3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Nurger | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Wamukota | 3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Morris | 20 | 4-7 | 0-1 | 0-3 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
Glass | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Totals | 199 | 20-48 | 12-18 | 6-26 | 11 | 16 | 56 |
Percentages: FG .417, FT .667. 3-Point Goals: 4-16, .250 (Baker 2-6, VanVleet 1-2, Cotton 1-5, Wessel 0-1, Simon 0-1, Carter 0-1). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 4 (Baker 2, Brown, Morris). Turnovers: 8 (VanVleet 2, Wessel, Kelly, Glass, Henderson Jr., Cotton, Carter). Steals: 10 (VanVleet 3, Wessel 2, Baker, Henderson Jr., Carter, Morris, Cotton). Technical Fouls: None.
S. Illinois | 20 | 25 | — | 45 |
Wichita St. | 28 | 28 | — | 56 |
A—NA. Officials—Tom Eades, Don Daily, Randy Heimerman.
Morris on the move
Wichita State freshman center Shaq Morris scored six first-half points to provide scoring during the game’s turning point.
The Shockers executed a play perfectly to get Morris a dunk for a 22-15 lead. Morris set a screen for Ron Baker near the foul line and Baker’s run to the top of the key drew two defenders. The lane opened for Morris, who was undefended as he ran to the lane, took the pass from Tekele Cotton, dribbled once and dunked.
“Chemistry,” Morris said. “I always set ball screens and try to roll and get behind the defense.”
With Baker moving toward the three-point line, defenses are quick to guard him and neglect the screener.
“And I like that,” Morris said.
Morris dunked again for a 25-16 lead after running the court and taking a pass from Baker. That is the kind of play Morris wasn’t making often enough earlier in the season when he wasn’t in good shape.
“He might have made that play two months ago, but he would have started at the three-point line where we’re on the other end of the court,” Baker said. “He’s coming along, and those are the little things we‘ve been asking Shaq to do — run the court, screen, roll as hard as you can.”
Driving and winning
As expected, Wichita State fans took over Scottrade Center. It’s a neutral-court in name only when the Shockers are playing.
“It kind of affected us,” Southern Illinois guard Jalen Pendleton said. “When they started yelling, we kind of got rattled a little bit. Every time they got a dunk or a stop, the crowd just went crazy.”
At least 4,000 Shocker fans filled at least four sections behind the WSU bench and grabbed seats throughout the arena. That routine hasn’t changed in years. On Thursday, more Shockers fans watched the play-in game than fans of Drake, Bradley, SIU and Missouri State.
“We just try to pay it back by playing as hard as we can,” WSU junior Fred VanVleet said.
Worth noting
WSU defeated SIU for a fifth straight time and trails the series 48-43. It is 4-1 against against the Salukis in the tournament. … No. 1 seeds are 39-0 in tournament quarterfinals. … The Shockers are 31-32 in the tournament and 18-22 in St. Louis. … SIU’s 45 points are its second-lowest in a tournament game. … SIU out-rebounded WSU 35-26 and out-rebounded the Shockers in all three meetings.
Paul Suellentrop
This story was originally published March 6, 2015 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Shocker report: No. 8 Wichita State 56, SIU 45."