Wichita State basketball team overcomes road adversity to pull out win at Richmond
There may be 12 newcomers on the Wichita State men’s basketball team this season, but they still play like the old Shockers on the road.
Wichita State claimed its eighth straight road nonconference win on Thursday, pulling away down the stretch to close out a 56-53 win over Richmond, a 2022 NCAA Tournament team, at the Robins Center.
In a stunning turnaround following last weekend’s embarrassing home loss to Alcorn State, the Shockers returned to their MTXE roots — hard-nosed defense, timely baskets and even some blood spilled — to snap the nine-game nonconference home winning streak of the defending Atlantic-10 tournament champions. WSU improved to 2-1 this season, while Richmond (2-2) dropped its second straight game.
What made the victory even more impressive for the Shockers was the resiliency they showed after letting a nine-point halftime advantage slip away, as Richmond reeled off a 16-2 run behind a wave of momentum in front of 5,896 home fans to take a 45-39 lead with 9:35 remaining.
WSU could have been devastated when the rally was capped by Isaiah Bigelow dunking over Kenny Pohto, then drilling a three-pointer. Instead, the Shockers took the punch and answered back with a haymaker of their own: a 7-0 run with three straight tough finishes near the rim by Craig Porter and Jaron Pierre Jr. to restore the lead.
It was a particularly impressive close from Porter, who had to exit the game 30 seconds into the second half when he was inadvertently elbowed in the mouth — and then again when he picked up his fourth foul with more than 12 minutes remaining.
With WSU reeling, head coach Isaac Brown made the bold decision to re-insert Porter, with four fouls, with 10:17 remaining in the game. Porter helped WSU erase the six-point deficit by scoring six of his 11 points down the stretch, while playing with a bandage on his top lip. He didn’t foul out and instead finished with a team-high nine rebounds, three assists, five steals and one block.
Jaykwon Walton (game-high 20 points) put WSU in front for good, 49-47, with a three-point play with 6:11 remaining. The closest Richmond would come down the stretch was three points, although there were some nervy moments for the Shockers in the way they closed out the game.
After taking a 54-49 lead with 3:31 left, WSU scored just two points on its final seven possessions, including a turnover and three straight misses from the foul line, but still managed to hold on for the win.
That allowed Richmond, which had its own late-game terrors, to still have a chance to force overtime with 2.2 seconds left and the length of the floor to go. The home fans who hadn’t filed out of the Robins Center stuck around to see if they would witness a miracle. Instead, they left even more dejected after watching 7-footer Neal Quinn catch a pass near halfcourt, then promptly turn and pass the ball into the second row of the stands as the buzzer sounded.
Brown shook up his starting lineup and significantly shortened the rotation to great success, as Alabama transfer James Rojas made the most of his first start at WSU with 15 points and six rebounds.
It wasn’t a pretty offensive performance, but then again, WSU road wins in the past rarely have been. The Shockers shot 42% from the field, including another cold outing from beyond the arc (4 of 17), and committed 13 turnovers.
But WSU followed a familiar formula to victory: rebounding and defense. The Shockers outrebounded Richmond by seven, 36-29, and held them to a season-low in points and efficiency (0.88 points per possession).
Richmond was averaging more than 75 points through its first three games but mustered just 19 first-half points against an ever-changing defense by WSU. Brown had the Shockers play more zone and sprinkled in a few possessions of man defense to keep Richmond off-balance. The strategy worked, as star Tyler Burton, who was coming off a career-high 38 points, finished with 15 points on 15 shots.
Wichita State 56, Richmond 53 box score
This story was originally published November 17, 2022 at 8:03 PM.
.jpg)