Taylor’s takeaways: Teammates' injuries take away from Haynes-Jones’ best Shocker night

The final margin would indicate there was no drama in Wichita State’s 112-66 victory over Savannah State at Koch Arena on Tuesday night.

But injuries to two starters (with one already sitting on the bench) will have WSU anxiously playing the waiting game in the days leading up to Saturday’s top-25 showdown between the No. 8 Shockers (5-1) and No. 16 Baylor.

Senior small forward Zach Brown did not suit up in uniform for Tuesday’s game, a precaution after he tweaked his knee in practice on Sunday, and Landry Shamet twisted his right ankle near the end of the first half and watched the final 20 minutes from the bench with his ankle wrapped heavily in ice.

On Shamet, Marshall said, “We’ll see how it goes overnight and into (Wednesday). He has a couple of days to rehab it and get back.”

Marshall said trainers have yet to identify Brown’s exact injury. The initial X-ray came back negative and did not show any structural damage, although Brown will undergo an MRI on Wednesday to make sure.

“He’s very positive and we’re positive right now,” Marshall said. “But we’ve got to make sure he’s OK.”

The crowd at Koch Arena held its collective breathe when Shamet stayed down on the court, clutching his ankle. Shamet is coming off his second surgery to repair a stress fracture in his foot and Marshall said he had just gotten back to 100 percent following the Maui Invitational.

“I was hoping it wasn’t the foot, that was the fear I had,” Marshall said. “You hate to see anybody put so much time and effort into it and go down like that. He’s had more than his share of bad fortune, but hopefully we can get him back for Saturday. If not, then the next game.”

Teammate Rashard Kelly was confident following the game in Shamet’s ability to recover.

“Landry’s tough,” Kelly said. “I think he’ll be fine. He’s been battling injuries, so no matter what he’ll battle back from this. Nothing to worry about, he’s just a tough guy.”

Haynes-Jones scores 31

If Samajae Haynes-Jones’ performance looked familiar, it seemed to replicate his days playing at East High.

Haynes-Jones more than doubled his career-high by making 11 of 17 shots, including 4 of 6 from beyond the arc, to go along with five rebounds and five assists in a career day.

“He looked like he was right at home back at East High playing in a City League game or a state tournament game,” Marshall said. “He showed that burst. That quick, quick, quick first step. His ability to get to the rim. He shot the ball well, he handled it well and made great decisions. He was obviously the star of the game and a big catalyst for us.”

Savannah State created a favorable tempo for Haynes-Jones, who thrives in transition. When the game morphed into an up-and-down affair late in the first half, he was at his best.

He scored 12 points in a three-minute flurry to close the half, including three-pointers on back-to-back possessions.

“He uses his speed to his advantage,” senior Rashard Kelly said. “You can’t stop him. He’s got a nice little hesitation move he likes to use. He’s unpredictable because he can shoot the 3 ball at the same time.”

It’s unlikely WSU will see a defense so inviting the rest of the season, but Haynes-Jones can use the confidence built up after the breakthrough performance.

He only played 11 minutes in the final two games of the Maui Invitational, scoring two points against Marquette and Notre Dame each.

“It was a confidence-builder, most definitely,” Haynes-Jones said. “Just getting out there and getting good minutes. I went out there and competed for my team and we got the win.”

Tuesday’s game will serve as a lesson to future opponents: don’t let him get downhill on you in transition.

“I was just being aggressive and getting in the paint and taking good shots,” Haynes-Jones said. “You just have to read the defense.”

Savannah State’s 55

Savannah State is one of the most trigger-happy teams in college basketball when it comes to taking three-pointers.

On Tuesday, the Tigers reached their peak.

Savannah State broke its school record of three-point attempts (52) by attempting 55 against WSU. Nearly 70 percent of the Tigers’ shots were three-pointers, although they made just 13 for 23.6-percent accuracy.

“I’ve never played a team like this,” WSU senior Darral Willis said. “It was kind of crazy. They made one, two passes, then a three was going up. It was kind of crazy playing against them.”

The number drew a wide-eyed look from the three WSU players on the podium after the game. Haynes-Jones kept repeating “55” in disbelief, while Rashard Kelly wondered what it would be like.

“I don’t think I’ve shot 55 times in two years,” said Kelly, who has attempted 54 career three-pointers in 112 games. “I need to get my numbers up.”

But to Marshall, who has coached at small-major programs like that before, the strategy made sense.

Savannah State entered the game taking the third-most threes per game (38), yet its team average of 29 percent was one of the worst-shooting marks in the country.

“You only got to win one weekend and that can be a very effective style in the MEAC,” Marshall said. “Those teams aren’t going to have the depth we have. It’s a one-shot deal. I’ve been in those leagues. You need to have something that you do that’s unusual or going to be very difficult for folks to handle. That style is interesting.”

WSU sets rebounding record

Rebounding three-pointers are typically a difficult thing to do for defenses due to the long bounces from the longer shots.

But Wichita State was able to grab nearly 90 percent of Savannah State’s misses and thanks to the fastest tempo of the season (the game had 90 possessions), the Shockers finished with 67 rebounds – the fifth-most in program history.

Wichita State’s 36-rebound advantage (67-31) was the most in program history. Darral Willis had 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Rashard Kelly had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

“67 rebounds, that’s a big number,” Marshall said. “We were plus-36, which will pad our stats.

“Don’t expect that on Saturday. We’re going to be at a deficiency when it comes to size and athleticism. We’re going to have to work a little harder, be better with our checks, be more diligent with our pursuit of the ball on the offensive glass. Usually we’re a good rebounding team, so we’ll see.”

Shaky start

Koch Arena sat in silence for the first eight minutes, as Savannah State shot its way into a 17-12 lead. After 12 minutes, against one of the statistically-worst teams in Division I, WSU’s lead was 29-24.

But Savannah State’s frenetic pace created plenty of opportunities for WSU, which put together a handful of runs to stretch the lead.

Was WSU’s 19 turnovers (nine in the first 18 possession) a concern to Marshall?

“We can’t turn the ball over 19 times against them,” Marshall said. “We’ve got to do a better job. My goal is to play 40 minutes of perfect basketball. I know that’s never going to happen, but that’s what we’re after. You strive for perfection, often times you achieve excellence and we weren’t even close to excellent in the first 10 minutes.”

As the game progressed, WSU made strides with its zone offense. No defense will be more inviting than Savannah State’s, but there were positive signs from WSU after its stagnant play against zones in Maui.

“We were getting the ball in the paint and going inside-out more, which helped a lot,” Haynes-Jones said.

Marshall just liked to see the ball moving.

“We were passing the ball more crisply and sometimes we weren’t actually making the right pass, but at least we weren’t holding it,” he said. “It wasn’t slowed down. We were playing a little too much windshield wiper across the perimeter, but when we got it to the middle good things happen. When we got it to the short corner, good things happened.”

The players said they can use Tuesday’s performance as momentum after suffering their first loss.

“We want to have a perfect season, but it’s hard,” Kelly said. “We’ll take the momentum and learn from the Notre Dame game. You learn from your losses. It’s not a loss, it’s a lesson.”

Marshall gave his initial thoughts on the top-25 showdown in Waco.

“They’re some dudes now,” Marshall said. “It’s going to be a tough battle on the glass. You’re going to have to secure the ball with two hands and even then they’re not going to stop on the play. It’s going to be a very physical, athletic affair. We’re going to have to execute better and be the tougher team, if we’re capable of doing that.”

Keyser makes his debut

The crowd at Koch Arena gave hearty applause to sophomore guard CJ Keyser, who checked into the game at the 15:06 mark in the first half. It was Keyser’s first appearance after sitting out the first four games for an issue not disclosed by WSU.

Keyser’s rust was evident at times (four fouls, three turnovers), but he did have his flashes in scoring four points and dishing two assists in 21 minutes.

“He looked like he was shot out of a cannon (on) that basket he had,” Marshall said.　　

This story was originally published November 28, 2017 at 11:03 PM with the headline "Taylor’s takeaways: Teammates' injuries take away from Haynes-Jones’ best Shocker night."