Was this the best two-minute stretch of Shocker basketball this season?
It had been more than a month since the Wichita State men’s basketball team had as much of a care-free win as possible at Koch Arena.
There was a lot to like from the Shockers in their 82-57 victory over Tulane on Sunday. WSU shot 48.3% from the field, including a 13-of-24 performance from beyond the three-point arc, it dominated the rebounding battle (plus-17) and limited Tulane to 34.5% shooting, and it finished with 22 assists on 29 baskets.
But the Shockers had perhaps their most highlight-worthy two-minute stretch of the season midway through a first half that they finished with 50 points and a 30-point lead.
“It was really, really fun,” said WSU sophomore Dexter Dennis, who scored a career-high 21 points. “We played a lot of team basketball, moving the ball. We executed. We’ll win a lot more games if we keep doing that.”
Here’s a closer look at the 112-second stretch that featured three easy baskets for the Shockers and essentially buried Tulane in a wave of momentum before halftime.
If there was one nit-pick from WSU’s dominant first half, it was the finishing touch from Jaime Echenique, the senior who had been the team’s foundation for the past month. But it had been a frustrating first half for Echenique, who had missed three shots in the paint.
It appeared as if Echenique had grown tired of leaving hook shots up to chance on the rim, so the 6-foot-11 center from Colombia buried Tulane’s Kevin Zhang deep in the paint and demanded the ball. Dennis obliged and Echenique took out those frustrations.
With a drop step toward the basket, Echenique went up with one arm for a slam dunk while Zhang slapped him and was whistled for the foul. The three-point play sent Echenique and the WSU bench into hysterics, celebrating perhaps the most aggressive and powerful post finish of Echenique’s career.
The crowd was again brought to its feet less than a minute later when fan favorite Asbjorn Midtgaard was inserted in the game and immediately swatted an attempted layup by Tulane off the backboard.
Even better, Grant Sherfield scooped up Midtgaard’s block and started a 2-on-1 fast break with Dennis. Sherfield sprinted with the ball to force the defender to commit his way, then lofted an alley-oop pass over the rim that Dennis flushed through with two hands.
“It was a great pass from Grant,” Dennis said. “I finally ran and tried to get a layup or a dunk, instead of running to the three-point line. I think I should do that more often.”
Dennis, who recently turned 22, laughed and said he’s getting too old for dunks like that that require extra energy.
“It might have looked good, but it didn’t feel as good,” Dennis said.
While WSU fans love those kind of show-stopping dunks, there’s nothing that elicits a stronger roar than the “Play Angry” type of plays that freshman Noah Fernandes provided to cap off the two-minute stretch of bliss.
The defensive possession began with Fernandes, who is 5-foot-11 and 172 pounds, getting rocked by a screen set by Tulane’s Nobal Days, who is 6-9 and 220. That alone would have took the fight out of many undersized guards such as Fernandes, but the WSU freshman fought through the screen and even dived to knock the ball away.
“That’s who we are, that’s who this program is,” WSU freshman Tyson Etienne said. “It was Noah, which makes it even a little more special. You see how hard he works every single days. He’s been able to get his opportunity and he’s relishing it. And that play just electrified the whole team.”
The play reset at the top of the key and Fernandes was switched onto Tulane’s Nic Thomas. Fernandes fought through another screen by trailing Thomas over the top and when Thomas hesitated with his dribble around the free-throw line, Fernandes poked the ball away from him too.
With the ball loose, Fernandes dived head-first to claim his prize on the ground and passed ahead to Jamarius Burton, who finished the break by flipping it to Dennis for another easy lay-in.
“Love that,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said. “That’s why he’s in there for his energy and his positive outlook on things. I just like the kid. I think he’s a wonderful person and I like his positive energy and I like the energy that he plays with on the court. He’s a winner and I’m glad that he’s on our team. Hopefully he’ll continue to get better as he gets more minute.”
The hustle play capped the two minutes of dominance by the Shockers, as they extended their lead to 31-12 over Tulane and forced coach Ron Hunter to call a timeout. WSU’s onslaught didn’t end there, but it the stretch was perhaps the peak.
Afterward, Hunter commented on how the Shockers simply wanted it more at the beginning of the game, a trait that he’s still trying to instill in his program at Tulane.
“That’s a team trying to get into the NCAA Tournament,” Hunter said. “They played desperate. They were struggling and they played extremely desperate. If they play like this the rest of the year, there’s no question they could make a run and make it to the second weekend.”
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