Tyson Etienne’s late-game heroics lead Wichita State basketball to win over Temple
When the game is on the line, Wichita State has the confidence knowing it has the American Athletic Conference’s leading scorer on its side.
Tyson Etienne came up clutch again for the Shockers in their 70-67 victory over the Temple Owls on Sunday afternoon at Koch Arena, scoring the go-ahead basket on a three-point play and making two free throws in the final minute.
For the seventh time in his last 10 games, Etienne (20 points on 6-of-12 shooting) scored at least 20 points. WSU completed a three-game sweep of its homestand and, more importantly, improved to 11-4 overall and 7-2 in AAC play, remaining tied in the loss column with first-place Houston (16-2, 10-2 AAC).
“We play basketball to have fun and to be able to make plays in that moment is a beautiful thing,” Etienne said. “It’s not about the awards or anything like that. It’s about your team winning together. For me to be able to make that play and for us to get the win is good, but if anybody would have made that play it’s a great feeling because we came out with the ‘W.’”
With WSU trailing by one in the final minute, Etienne dribbled around a screen from Morris Udeze (11 points, seven rebounds) and made an acrobatic layup while being fouled with 42 seconds left. The free throw completed a three-point play to give WSU the lead, 66-64, for good.
The 20 lead changes in Sunday’s game were the most in a WSU game since the Shockers played at Hawaii in Dec. 2014 and the sixth-most in program history.
“What he’s been doing has been incredible,” said WSU junior Dexter Dennis, who came up with the offensive rebound that gave Etienne the second chance at the lead. “It’s amazing just to be able to witness it. I’m not really shocked at all. I’m just glad to be on the ride with him.”
Nothing came easy — or pretty — for the Shockers in this one.
Even after WSU took the lead on Etienne’s three-point play, the Shockers produced a stop and senior Alterique Gilbert made two free throws for a 68-64 lead with 25 seconds left. The Shockers hurt themselves by allowing a drive by Temple’s Damian Dunn (career-high 22 points) and fouling him for a three-point play that trimmed WSU’s lead to 68-67.
Etienne made two free throws to extend the lead with 17 seconds left, but the Shockers had to withstand some nerve-racking moments to close out the game. Thanks to three offensive rebounds, Temple was able to fire up four shots in the closing seconds — but all misfired.
“Sometimes you win games that are not pretty, but the bottom line is that they pulled it out,” WSU interim coach Isaac Brown said.
WSU has made something of a specialty out of winning ugly in recent years in American play.
The Shockers didn’t shoot a great percentage (41.8% from the field) and gave up 17 offensive rebounds, but still managed a way to win the game because they held Temple to 38.5% shooting and made timely plays down the stretch.
“It wasn’t pretty. It was an ugly win,” Dennis said. “The message in the locker room is always stay in the moment, stay in the present and control what we can control. I think in those moments it’s not a sense of panic anymore. We’re a little bit older. I think everybody is relaxed.”
It wasn’t just Etienne down the stretch.
With WSU trailing 62-61 in the final two minutes, Dennis attacked the basket, drew a foul and made both free throws to give the Shockers the lead back. He also wrestled away an offensive rebound after a Gilbert miss with 53 seconds left to give Etienne his second chance at the lead.
Perhaps the biggest play was made by sophomore Clarence Jackson, who shuffled his feet and drew a charge from Temple’s J.P. Moorman with 25 seconds left. That gave WSU the ball back with a two-point lead and allowed Gilbert to extend it to four.
“Everybody is talking about the and-one, but I think the play of the game was that charge he took at the end,” Etienne said. “That was huge for us. For him to make that play, that’s what won us the game.”
WSU raced out to a 13-4 start to the game, but nothing came easy after that. Neither team was able to establish much of a rhythm on offense, as each slogged their way through the first 30 minutes without creating much separation.
WSU appeared to finally pull away, building an eight-point lead on an Etienne three with 4:52 remaining, but Temple answered with a 12-3 run capped by a Jeremiah Williams banked-in three. It was the second straight game WSU has overcome a crucial banked-in three down the stretch from the opponent.
The Shockers are 8-2 this season in games decided by single-digits, a winning record that the team attributes to a veteran group.
“I think it’s just because we have a lot of upperclassman,” said senior Trey Wade, who scored a season-high 12 points, including a season-high two three-pointers. “We’re just calm and composed out there. Guys know what to do at the right time. There’s not real pressure because we’re older. I think that’s what pushes us over the top at the end.”
It was the latest victory where the Shockers felt like they were far away from their top level of play, yet managed to still find a way to win.
Brown views that encouraging as WSU looks forward to two road games this coming week at Central Florida on Wednesday and at SMU on Sunday.
“I got home the other night from the game and I didn’t think we played well, but we won,” Brown said. “I’m getting more excited about the fact that these guys can battle for 40 minutes and still pull the game out. The other team is going to battle. Temple didn’t give up. But I think our guys have a lot of confidence knowing they can win games down the stretch, no matter if they’re up eight or down eight. That’s a sign of a good team, a sign of a team that has really good guard play and a sign of a team that will compete for 40 minutes.”
This story was originally published February 7, 2021 at 3:58 PM.
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