Wichita State basketball turns showdown into beatdown for first K-State win since 2001
The best way to forget about an ugly loss is to follow it up with a defining win.
Tuesday’s stumble felt like a distant memory late Saturday evening when the Wichita State men’s basketball team was celebrating its first victory over Kansas State since 2001 following an 84-65 win in front of a rowdy crowd of 8,253 at Koch Arena.
The Shockers led for more than 31 minutes and beat the Wildcats by 23 points in the second half to improve to 9-3. While K-State (6-5) is struggling so far this season, the win felt like, in the moment at least, the most significant of Paul Mills’ two-year career.
It’s the kind of victory the Shockers hope can spark a turnaround after entering Saturday’s game on a two-game losing skid, including a 10-point loss to Kansas City on Tuesday.
Saturday’s game featured close to the best version of WSU, as Xavier Bell, inserted into the starting lineup for the first time this season, responded with a game-high 24 points and five rebounds. Corey Washington (18 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks) and Quincy Ballard (10 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks) both notched double-doubles, while Justin Hill scored a quiet 13 with Harlond Beverly adding nine points and eight rebounds.
In one of the most efficient performances of the season, the Shockers shot 50.8% from the field and, more importantly, 91% (20 of 22) from the foul line. With only eight turnovers, WSU finished with a sparkling 1.25 points per possession against a Big 12 defense.
Meanwhile, K-State’s offense sputtered to 36.2% shooting from the field, including a 9-of-32 mark beyond the arc, and 40% shooting (6 of 15) at the foul line to finish with a meager 0.89 points per possession.
It was a back-and-forth game in the first half. But the Shockers blew it open in the second. They erased a four-point deficit and built a lead as large as 12 points.
An 8-0 spurt, capped by a Beverly bucket in transition, was the first rally that established WSU in control with a 56-48 lead with 9:38 remaining.
But the real run came shortly after when Bijan Cortes made a floater, Bell scored on a drive and then Cortes (five assists) connected with Quincy Ballard for an alley-oop dunk for a 66-54 lead that forced K-State coach Jerome Tang to use a timeout to try to settle down the loudest crowd of the Paul Mills era.
K-State never recovered from the knockout punch, clawing back to within nine briefly, only for the Shockers to score 13 of the final 16 points in the game.
Despite playing in front for 17 minutes, 34 seconds in the first half, WSU trailed 33-29 at halftime.
WSU’s lead grew to as many as eight points, as Washington scored a transition layup to put the Shockers up 23-15 with 6:34 remaining.
But K-State ended the half on an 18-6 run, spurred by a career day from Macaleab Rich, who scored 13 of his career-best 20 points before halftime. Rich entered with one career 3-pointer, but looked like a natural in going 2-for-2 beyond the arc against WSU’s intentional defense to leave him alone on the perimeter.
The Shockers also had problems keeping KSU off the glass, as the Wildcats racked up 10 offensive rebounds and scored 14 second-chance points in the first half alone. WSU significantly improved after halftime, limiting K-State to just six offensive rebounds and three second-chance points in the second half.
It took less than 50 seconds for WSU to erase the halftime deficit and less than five minutes to regain the lead, as a Justin Hill triple put the Shockers back in front, 44-41.
When K-State rallied to tie the game again, WSU took the lead back when Matej Bosnjak took a dump pass and hammered it home to ignite the crowd.
WSU never trailed again in the final 12 minutes.
This story was originally published December 21, 2024 at 8:01 PM.
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