Wichita’s own Xavier Bell explodes for 14 points to help spark Shockers basketball in win
Xavier Bell has always been a confident player on the basketball court, dating back to his days when he dominated the youth scene around Wichita.
But even he admitted his confidence took a hit last week when he lost his starting spot on the Wichita State men’s basketball team and played just four minutes at Richmond. After the first three games playing for his hometown Shockers, Bell was averaging 1.3 points and had missed all nine of his three-point attempts.
“When the shots didn’t go in, it definitely got in my head a lot more,” Bell said. “I was getting away from the player I think I am, I know I am. So (I was) just leaning into these guys, to Craig (Porter), to the coaching staff. (They were) picking me up and pushing me along the way and saying, ‘It will be OK.’”
Bell regained his confidence in a major way on Monday, breaking out of his early season slump to score a team-high 14 points and play a season-high 23 minutes in Wichita State’s 55-43 win over Grand Canyon in the first game of the Hall of Fame Classic at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
The Shockers (3-1) will face San Francisco (5-0) for the Hall of Fame Classic championship at 1 p.m. Tuesday with the TV broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
Gone was the hesitant player who looked unsure of himself, replaced by the aggressive play that made Bell an all-state player in high school at Andover Central and a player who scored 30 points in a game last season for Drexel.
“So happy for the kid,” WSU head coach Isaac Brown said. “He didn’t shoot the ball as well as he wanted (the first two games). We kept telling him, ‘Your opportunity is going to come again, just take advantage of it when you get in the game.’
“Once he saw the ball go through the net, the basket became bigger and he made some big shots for us when we really needed them.”
The most important shot was unquestionably the corner three he drilled at the end of the shot clock to extend WSU’s lead to 43-32 with 11:57 remaining in the second half.
Not only did it give the Shockers their first double-digit lead of the second half, but it was also the first three-point make of the season for Bell, who was a 35.9% three-point shooter last season at Drexel but was off to an 0-for-9 start beyond the arc this season.
“It opened my eyes seeing the ball go through the net. It gave me a lot more confidence,” Bell said.
Bell was WSU’s best player during a 12-0 run to put the game away in the second half. When Grand Canyon closed to within four points, 36-32, Bell was there to steady the Shockers with a drive and up-and-under finish. After drilling the corner three, Bell scored another three points, this time the old-fashioned way, as he drove into the paint and finished through contact to stake WSU to a 46-32 lead.
He added two more drives down the stretch and also finished the game with a block and a steal, two defensive plays that stood out in the mind of Brown.
“It’s really exciting because we’ve got deep personnel at every position,” WSU senior guard Craig Porter said. “Any given night it could be any given player to step up and have a big game for us. Seeing X do that boosts all of our confidence and shows everybody else they might get their number called and to stay ready.”
This story was originally published November 21, 2022 at 5:46 PM.
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