UAB road win shows Wichita State basketball unwilling to accept fate placed on it
It was happening again.
If it was on a submarine, red lights would be flashing, crew members would be scurrying around and the intercom would sound a plea for all hands on deck.
Crisis mode had been reached late Wednesday evening at Bartow Arena, as the Wichita State men’s basketball team was trying its best not to surrender a 19-point second-half lead but succumbing to a tidal wave of turnovers.
The Shockers were 1-8 in games within two possessions entering the final 5 minutes of regulation in American Athletic Conference play. The team was used to playing in close games late — and used to losing them. Wednesday was teetering on the edge of becoming the biggest disaster to date, as eight turnovers in a 6-minute span fueled a 23-5 run by UAB to trim a 19-point advantage down to one.
But with UAB on the brink of overtaking the lead, WSU head coach Paul Mills said he saw a picture of calm in the midst of chaos when he gathered his troops during the final media timeout.
“There was a different look in their eyes,” Mills said. “You could just tell we were going to figure out a way.”
After blowing halftime leads on the road at Florida Atlantic, South Florida, Tulsa and Memphis, the Shockers finally experienced the breakthrough of being on the winning side of a close game on the road.
On this night, it was WSU who scrapped for offensive rebounds to generate five second-chance points, scored by Kenny Pohto and Ronnie DeGray III. On this night, it was WSU who came up with 50-50 balls down the stretch. On this night, it was WSU who stepped up and drilled all three free throws and its opponent who missed three straight from the line. On this night, it was WSU who produced a timely steal and its opponent who made the costly mistake.
On this night, the roles were finally reversed for a change.
“This just shows how resilient we are,” said WSU junior Xavier Bell, who scored 12 points off the bench but also had five of those turnovers that made things interesting late. “No matter how things were going, we had to stay together and trust each other. Every timeout we had, every huddle we had, it was ‘We’re winning this game.’”
In an ideal scenario, WSU wouldn’t be required to demonstrate its grit in the final moments when it leads by 15 points with 7 minutes to go.
However, precious little about the last two months has been ideal for the Shockers, which improved to 4-12 AAC play but still find themselves tied for last place in the standings.
WSU has endured enough heartbreak, enough close defeats to fracture the locker room. Given the circumstances, with WSU at the end of a disappointing season and UAB clawing for a top-4 finish and first-round bye at the AAC tournament, the Shockers had every chance to roll over on Wednesday.
But Mills said there has never been an inkling of give-in from this group. The buy-in is there every single day of practice.
“These guys want to know what we can do in order to improve,” Mills said. “This (win) is a testament to the strides that we are making. And it’s because those players show up every day with the right mental approach.”
No one embodied that spirit better than WSU guard Colby Rogers, who shook off a four-game shooting slump to pour in a career-high 29 points and carry the offensive burden for a team that struggles when he’s not on.
It has never been an option to give up on the hope of this team, Rogers said.
“We’ve lost a lot of close games this year, so you just have to put it in your mind that you’re not going to accept that and you’re not going to settle,” Rogers said. “You have to continue to fight for what you want. So in my mind, I just kept telling myself, ‘We are not going to lose this game. I’m not going to leave this court wishing I would have given more effort.’”
When a team’s best player shows that type of fight, it can be contagious and Rogers’ refusal to lose seemingly rubbed off on his teammates in the final 3 minutes when WSU came through with winning play after winning play.
Of course, the players had felt this way before during the end of a close game and still lost.
Mills said there’s maybe something to facing an avalanche of adversity that can force players to dig deeper than they thought they could dig. When some WSU fans surely felt like a collapse was inevitable, given the team’s track record, the players’ belief a breakthrough was imminent never wavered.
The way WSU conducted itself down the stretch, the sheer will the team displayed to close out its first AAC road win and the pure ecstasy in the locker room afterward were all signs of a team unwilling to accept a fate placed upon them by others.
This was a team that still believes in itself.
“I’ve always felt like we are a good team,” WSU guard Harlond Beverly said. “I don’t feel like our record reflects our potential and how good we can be. Between the guys and the coach, we all still really believe we can make some noise in the (AAC) tournament and finish up strong here at the end of the season.”
This story was originally published February 29, 2024 at 6:01 AM.
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