Shockers go to Vegas 3-0: Wichita State basketball turns over Tarleton State for win
The Shockers will take an undefeated record and some positive momentum to Las Vegas.
The Wichita State men’s basketball improved to 3-0 at Koch Arena with a 65-51 win over Tarleton State on Tuesday night, its first double-digit win this season after beginning with two nail-biters.
Making the degree of difficulty higher was the absence of Tyson Etienne, the preseason American Athletic Conference Player of the Year who missed the game due to illness. WSU coach Isaac Brown was confident afterward that the star guard would be ready for when the Shockers play Arizona (3-0) at 9 p.m. Central on Friday in the Roman Main Event in Las Vegas.
After an ice-cold start from the outside to start the season, WSU will head to Vegas on the heels of its best shooting game of the season — a low bar that was cleared by making 42.2% from the field and nine three-pointers on 42.9% accuracy, all season-best marks.
“Anytime you can see the ball go through the net, that gives you confidence,” Brown said. “Now those guys know we can make shots. When we take good shots and when we drive the basketball to try to create for teammates to get better shots that gives them all confidence. To beat these teams we’re about to play, you’re going to have to make shots from the perimeter. In order to do that, you’ve got to take good shots.”
Maybe just as important as winning for WSU was restoring the confidence of center Morris Udeze, who finally resembled the bully-ball extraordinaire who ended last season averaging 12.5 points in his final 13 games. He nearly had as many turnovers (8) as points (10) in the first two games of the season, but experienced “a little breakthrough” on Tuesday with a season-high 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting and a perfect 5-for-5 showing from the foul line.
Turnovers — he had three more on Tuesday — continue to be an issue, but throw in six rebounds, two blocks and a steal and it was easily Udeze’s best performance of the season. Even more encouraging, WSU’s defense has been at its best (0.75 points per possession) through three games with Udeze anchoring it.
“I feel like I was forcing it the first two games,” Udeze said. “I just kept praying because the first two were rough. I was kind of forcing it, not getting in my rhythm. My teammates and coaches just told me, ‘Slow down, let the game come to you.’ When I let the game come to me, they were right, things started going in my favor.”
WSU held its third straight opponent under 60 points and forced 20 turnovers, which softened the blow of committing a season-high 16 turnovers on the other end. In a feat that stunned both coaches, the Shockers forced Tarleton State into five shot-clock violations in the first half alone.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that in my 25 years of coaching,” Brown said.
“Just not paying attention to what’s going on,” Tarleton State coach Billy Gillispie said in his post-game radio interview. “It goes back to discipline, I’ll leave it at that. Just not very smart basketball.”
For the second straight game, sophomore forward Monzy Jackson (five points, four rebounds, two assists) came off the bench to deliver the defining hustle play.
This time, Jackson soared above a crowd — Tarleton State’s rotation didn’t feature a player taller than 6-foot-6 — and wrestled away an offensive rebound, then kicked out to Qua Grant for an open three. Jackson was near the right corner when Grant’s shot from the right wing was in the air, but never stopped moving and when the ball was tipped he was there to snag it. He went straight to the basket to draw a defender, then made a blind wrap-around pass to Udeze for an easy basket and foul for a three-point play and 49-36 lead with 9:03 remaining.
Coaches like to say that energy finds the ball and Jackson’s play the last two games has been a perfect example. Despite playing the second-fewest minutes on the team, Jackson has a team-high six offensive rebounds and ranks second in the team with six assists.
“He has won so many games for us just with his energy,” Brown said. “Whenever it seems like we don’t have energy and we sub him in the game, it energizes everybody on our team. He runs down a 50-50 ball or gets an offensive rebound and it gets the crowd going and it gets the players going. He did another tremendous job off the bench with his energy.”
“That’s what I pride myself in doing,” Jackson said. “I just want to help us win at the end of the day. If they want me to make shots, get 10 rebounds, 10 assists, whatever they need me to do, I’m going to do.”
Tarleton State, a team that traded shots with KU for the first half and led Stanford by seven points in the second half, wouldn’t go away easily. The Texans showed their resolve once again by cutting a 13-point deficit down to 52-45 with 5:36 to play. After the first two games came down to the final minute, the crowd began to tense up.
But those concerns were erased when Grant (eight points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals) rescued what seemed destined for a lost possession when he drove through traffic at the end of the shot clock and finished an off-balanced look to stop the Tarleton State rally. WSU wouldn’t allow its lead to dip below nine for the rest of the game.
“What does hanging in there mean to people?” Gillispie said on radio. “I don’t care about hanging in there. I’m not a hanging-in-there kind of guy.
“We’ve gotta win. There’s one winner and one loser when you play and we were the loser tonight.”
WSU junior wing Dexter Dennis made a three-pointer for his 12th straight game, shaking off some rust from the first two games of this season to can 3 of 4 looks from the perimeter on Tuesday. Dennis finished with 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and a block, while freshman Ricky Council IV (12 points, three assists) was the other Shocker in double-figure scoring.
The first half belonged to freshman Chaunce Jenkins in his first action of the season after not playing the first two games. He quickly took advantage of the playing time available in Etienne’s absence, as he drilled a deep three-pointer one minute after checking in, then had the dunk of the night when he beat his defender off the dribble, then elevated over another defender for a towering, two-handed dunk he punctuated by pulling himself up on the rim.
Jenkins was excellent in his first chance to impress the coaching staff, as WSU outscored Tarleton State 38-26 in his 19 minutes on the floor. He finished with five points, two assists, two steals and took a charge.
“I was waiting for my opportunity and when it came I had to depend on my preparation and it ended up well,” Jenkins said.
With the victory, WSU extended its home winning streak to 12 games and Brown (19-6) registered the best 25-game start by a Shocker head coach in program history, surpassing Gary Thompson (18-7) for the record.
“I give it all up to the players,” Brown said. “I’m just the guy trying to get them organized. None of this could have happened if it wasn’t for our talented players. Those guys go out and follow the game plan and make shots and rebound, so I give all credit to the players. I’m excited about that and I’m excited about being the head coach of a great university like Wichita State.”
Wichita State 65, Tarleton State 51 box score
This story was originally published November 16, 2021 at 8:56 PM.
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