Shockers basketball tops Newman in exhibition game to win final tune-up before season
Seven scholarship players made their Koch Arena debut for the Wichita State men’s basketball team in its 83-52 exhibition game victory over Newman University on Wednesday evening.
It was an uneven performance from the Shockers: dominant in stretches, sloppy in others.
Wichita State shook off a lacking first half to pull away for another comfortable victory over Newman, a local NCAA Div. II opponent. Chalk it up to a learning experience for a WSU team that returned just two players from last season’s rotation and is trying to integrate double-digit newcomers to the program.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway, for the players at least, was the chance for the first-year Shockers to experience playing in front of 7,055 fans at Koch Arena before the real start to the 2022-23 regular season begins this coming Monday when WSU hosts Central Arkansas for a 7 p.m. tip-off streamed on ESPN+.
“It was amazing,” said new Shocker Jaykwon Walton, who had six points, five rebounds and two steals in a start. “I can’t wait to play more games in front of Shocker nation.”
“The atmosphere was crazy and it’s not even packed yet,” said Alabama transfer James Rojas, who had nine points, six rebounds and two steals off the bench. “I’m just waiting for the real conference games and for this fan base to go crazy.”
Following a narrow victory in a closed scrimmage against Missouri State this past weekend, coach Isaac Brown challenged his team to clean up some of the details in the final tune-up before the start of the season.
WSU made 41.8% of its shots from the field, including 9 of 27 on three-pointers, edged Newman 44-41 in the rebounding battle and committed 12 turnovers. The performance was graded as a B-minus by Brown.
“We got off to a slow start and it was the first time playing in front of our crowd and they had goosebumps,” Brown said. “All they wanted to do is get the ball up and shoot it as quickly as they got it. We didn’t play well the first half. We didn’t defend at all. Second half, after we talked to them about defending and playing the right way, they did a great job in the second half.”
Brown gave his starting five of Craig Porter, Xavier Bell, Walton, Gus Okafor and Kenny Pohto nearly seven minutes to show him something to start the game, but a lethargic effort saw the unit exit trailing 11-8 to Newman. Many of the starters actually ended the first half with a negative plus-minus.
The best stretch of the game for WSU were the seven minutes during the middle of the first half when the bench unit of Shammah Scott, Jaron Pierre Jr., Jalen Ricks, Rojas and Quincy Ballard dominated to reel off a 22-2 run to build a 30-13 lead.
But Brown knew the Shockers were relying too much on their superior athleticism to score many of those points off of their full-court pressure defense. In the second half, Brown made it a point not to press. WSU responded with a better effort on the defensive end, holding Newman to 20.6% shooting (7 of 34) and forcing 12 turnovers in the second half.
“We’ve got some little stuff to clean up,” said Porter, who was a standout with a team-high 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. “Coming out of the gate, staying on script, we kind of underestimated them at first. Once halftime hit, coach got on us and we picked it up and played like we’re supposed to.”
After falling behind by 17 points, Newman, picked to finish last in the 14-team MIAA, showed its resolve by winning the final six minutes of the first half to trim WSU’s halftime advantage to 40-32.
For a matchup that is typically decided by halftime with WSU well on its way to a 40-point victory, Newman’s first-half performance was an indicator of the Jets’ determination and the Shockers’ inexperience in putting away an opponent.
“I was really pleased with their poise,” said Newman coach R.J. Allen, a Wichita native. “We talked about being able to withstand runs. That’s something that this team needs to be able to do in order to be successful at our level. Teams are going to go on runs and make shots and make plays. It’s how you respond to that. I thought for the first 20 minutes, we did a good job of responding.”
The quality of play improved after halftime for Wichita State.
It began with Porter, who scored with one of his silky moves to stride down the lane and cram an effortless dunk through the rim. Walton, a former top-100 high school recruit who showed his potential as a defensive stopper, displayed his instincts and 6-foot-7 length to jump a passing lane for a steal and dunk.
Within three minutes into the second half, WSU had doubled its lead and the Shockers steadily stretched out their lead from there.
Okafor, a Southeastern Louisiana transfer, scored 11 points with two steals, while Syracuse transfer Quincy Ballard produced seven points, seven rebounds and three blocks in just 10 minutes. Shammah Scott (five points, six rebounds, five assists) was a pleasant surprise leading the offense in a backup point guard role, while Pohto (seven points, six rebounds), Bell (seven points), Pierre (five points) and Isaac Abidde (six points, four rebounds) also chipped in.
Even though WSU held a 36-20 advantage for points in the paint and 60% of its shots were inside the arc, Brown wanted to establish early in the season for the Shockers to play inside-out.
“I want to try to score it more inside the paint,” Brown said. “I don’t want this team to be a team that settles for threes. We’ve got to play inside-out.”
It was also of note that Brown chose not to play Colby Rogers, a junior who was a possible starting candidate at shooting guard. WSU is still awaiting a ruling from the NCAA on his waiver to play this season after making his second Div. I transfer from Siena this offseason. Senior center Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler (Omaha), who is a walk-on this season at WSU, sat out for the same reason.
Wichita State 83, Newman 52 basketball box score
This story was originally published November 2, 2022 at 8:57 PM.
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