‘They dominated us’: How the Shockers dismantled a quality team in Saint Louis win
Following a lethargic effort Monday in the Roundhouse, the Wichita State men’s basketball team delivered its most complete performance of the young season on Friday in Kansas City.
The Shockers dominated the second half by 22 points in their 88-63 win over Saint Louis in the Hall of Fame Classic, turning a close game at halftime into a blowout in a game that could end up in the Quad 2 bucket at the end of the season.
After a wake-up call earlier in the week, WSU stuck to what it’s good at — relentlessly attacking the rim — and improved its defense and rebounding to improve to 5-0 and kick off a key three-game stretch in the nonconference schedule with a convincing victory.
“I did wonder about this game, what would our response be?” WSU head coach Paul Mills said. “But I never once asked the question, ‘Did we have guys whose buy-in was high and were 10 toes down?’ This was a good response because that’s a really good basketball team.”
Once WSU cleaned up its early defensive mishaps by switching all screens again, Saint Louis’ offense bogged down. The Billikens went without a field goal for 17 straight possessions at one point, which spanned nearly 10 minutes, missed 24 of their 30 shots beyond the arc after averaging 12.3 made 3-pointers on 36% accuracy in a 2-1 start.
The Shockers, not known for their defensive intensity, forced 14 turnovers and scored 24 points following SLU miscues. They also logged a season-best 10 kills, which consist of at least three defensive stops in a row.
What had been a back-and-forth tussle for the first 20 minutes was a 17-point runaway in WSU’s favor by the second media timeout of the second half. First-year SLU head coach Josh Schertz did not mince words expressing his frustration afterward.
“When we hit some adversity, we folded,” Schertz said. “We let go of the rope and that’s on coaching. I put this roster together. I’ve allowed it, so I take full responsibility. That second half was as embarrassing a half as I’ve coached in my 17 years of basketball.”
While SLU can feel dejected about rolling over in the second half, WSU earned credit for pushing its opponent to such despair.
It may not always be pretty, but the Shockers have found their formula for efficient offense in spacing the floor and constantly attacking the basket. Perimeter players like Justin Hill, Xavier Bell, Harlond Beverly and Corey Washington are like battering rams, unafraid of head-on collisions at the rim.
Sometimes their failed attempts feel forced, but their persistence at applying pressure on the rim is the lifeblood of WSU’s offense.
Perhaps the best analogy lies in football, as WSU’s offense can be the equivalent of “three yards and a cloud of dust” — far from splashy, but effective.
“A big thing with coach (Mills) is putting pressure on the rim,” said Washington, who finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. “We know we can just keep swinging the ball until we see who has the right matchup and then they can take it from there and make the right play. That’s going to open up kick-outs and for drives in double gaps.”
“We have a lot of weapons who can handle the ball and make the right decision,” added Hill, who overcame a slow shooting start to score a game-high 17 points. “We like to drive it and then kick and then drive it again. We feel like if we can continue to be aggressive, then we’re going to make the defense pay.”
In its three prior games, Saint Louis had allowed an average of 15 2-point makes on 44.6% accuracy. WSU pummeled the interior of the Billikens’ defense for 26 2-pointers on 56.5% accuracy. The Shockers scored 46 points in the paint and added 21 points from the foul line, which accounted for more than three-fourths of the total offense.
The dynamic Saint Louis backcourt of Gibson Jimerson and Isaiah Swope were averaging more than 40 points combined this season, but both struggled mightily to a combined 14 points on 4-of-23 shooting (1-of-15 on 3s) with six turnovers.
WSU also drastically improved its defensive rebounding, despite missing its top rebounder, Ronnie DeGray III. Even with Saint Louis missing 24 3-pointers, which usually means long and difficult rebounds, WSU retrieved a season-best 85% of possible defensive rebounds.
“They were getting downhill and just dominating us in the paint,” said SLU’s Kalu Anya, who scored a team-high 15 points. “They dominated us in the post, they dominated us on the glass. All around, they just dominated us.”
Ten Shockers scored in the game, as the team emerged from Friday’s game feeling better than ever about its depth.
After a slow start to the season, Bijan Cortes flashed his unique ability to electrify the offense with 10 points and three assists. Sharpshooter A.J. McGinnis poured in a season-high 12 points off the bench to spark the Shockers, while good things happened in the 12 minutes with 6-foot-4 sophomore Joy Ighovodja playing power forward, as he chipped in six points, five rebounds and two steals.
“You can’t really pay attention to the bad all of the time,” McGinnis said. “You just got to keep working. You know shots will fall one day and today was that day. I’m glad I was able to contribute to our (win).”
Schertz praised WSU’s guards for their pace and physicality and lamented his own team’s lack of resistance, calling the last 25 minutes “a varsity vs. JV game.”
While Friday’s game sends the Shockers to Orlando with momentum, their opponent seemed to have already reached a crossroads in the season departing Kansas City.
“If we have to, we’ll tighten the screws,” Schertz said. “We’ll start going two-a-days, go at 5 in the morning and then come back in the afternoon and go again. If they’re going to make my life miserable by not competing, I’m going to make their lives equally as miserable. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.”
This story was originally published November 23, 2024 at 6:07 AM.
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