Back at home: Wichita State basketball brings the energy in Tarleton State win
A two-week break from Koch Arena was ended by the best offensive performance of the season from the Wichita State men’s basketball team.
After mostly plodding offensive efforts early in the season, the Shockers shed their scoring troubles in an 83-71 win over Tarleton State at Koch Arena on Saturday. WSU improved to 4-2 on the season, while Tarleton State fell to 3-3 with its first double-digit defeat.
Wichita State, which recorded a season-high in points and efficiency, was averaging less than one point per possession through five games. The Shockers exploded for 1.34 points per possession on 54% shooting against a Tarleton State defense that had held four quality opponents in check earlier this season.
“We got physically whipped,” Tarleton State coach Billy Gillispie said in his post-game radio interview. “(Wichita State) played harder and tougher than we did.”
That’s certainly a welcomed thing for the Shockers to hear an opposing coach say after WSU head coach Isaac Brown openly questioned his team’s toughness on the glass early in the season.
The difference-maker for WSU, both in production and energy, was senior Gus Okafor, a 6-foot-6 bundle of energy who finished with a season-high 27 points — more than he had scored (23) in the first five games combined — and eight rebounds off the bench.
“I just tried to focus on playing as hard as I can and let the game come to me,” said Okafor, who averaged 14.6 points last season at Southeastern Louisiana. “I felt like I was kind of relying on my shooting (before), so I just got going on the offensive boards and that kept me going through the whole game.”
Saturday’s performance was the version of Okafor the Shockers believe he can be consistently: a high-energy spark on both ends of the floor.
Okafor became the fifth different WSU player to lead the team in scoring through the first six games, a sign to Brown that the newcomers are beginning to feel more comfortable.
“I think all of those guys are trying to figure it out,” Brown said. “It’s new to all of them. I told (Okafor) to keep focusing on the little things that you can control, like defending, rebounding, playing with toughness, executing what we’re supposed to do on offense and defense and your shots will come.”
While Tarleton State is a program still transitioning to NCAA Div. I play, the Texans have proven their quality early in the season in wins over Boston College and Belmont and by pushing Arizona State and Drake to the final whistle.
WSU did well to limit its turnovers (12) against a team that has thrived on wreaking havoc on the defensive end, as Tarleton State was forcing more than 21 turnovers per game.
And the Shockers exploited their size advantage for the most part, converting a season-high 67% of two-pointers and shooting 83% on a season-high 29 free throws. Although WSU appeared to dominate the rebounding battle 40-29 it still gave up 15 offensive rebounds to a much smaller Tarleton State team, although the Shockers did outscore the Texans 14-10 in second-chance points.
WSU sophomore center Kenny Pohto enjoyed one of the most productive games of his career, posting 13 points and nine rebounds, one away from his first career double-double.
“I only had nine? Dang,” Pohto said. “I thought I had like 15 (rebounds). I think they missed a few.”
Pohto and Okafor grabbed eight of WSU’s 10 offensive rebounds, which they said was a focus in recent practices.
“The focus has been going up with two hands, grabbing the ball and being stronger with the ball,” Pohto said. “I tried to do that today and it worked out pretty well.”
Okafor helped WSU pull away in the game with a three, a driving layup and a three-point play following an offensive rebound to jump-start a 12-3 run to give the Shockers a 32-22 lead with 6:47 remaining in the first half.
WSU was able to keep a double-digit cushion for the majority of the second half. Tarleton State threatened late, but WSU’s lead was never in serious danger. Okafor provided the two highlight-reel plays from the game, crashing the glass right before halftime for a dunk off a miss and then another high-flying dunk late in the second half that served as the exclamation point in the win — coming off an alley-oop feed by Craig Porter.
Porter (11 points, four assists, five blocks) was aggressive early, then more of a distributor, while James Rojas chipped in with nine points and seven rebounds. Jaykwon Walton, Xavier Bell and Jaron Pierre all scored seven points each.
After playing a deep rotation in the first two games of the season, Brown has since cut down the rotation. He only played three reserves against Tarleton State, with players like Quincy Ballard, Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler, Isaac Abidde and Jalen Ricks stuck on the bench.
“I tell all of those guys to be ready when your opportunity comes,” Brown said. “All of those guys have been practicing hard ... and (keeping) a great attitude. We can’t win these guys if those guys that didn’t play don’t go hard in practice.
“I keep telling them to keep a great attitude because they’re going to get an opportunity. When that opportunity comes, be ready to play.”
Up next the Shockers will try to hand Missouri, which is off to a 7-0 start under first-year coach Dennis Gates, its first loss of the season in Tuesday’s 7 p.m. game at Koch Arena.
Wichita State 83, Tarleton State 71 basketball box score
This story was originally published November 26, 2022 at 4:55 PM.
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