WSU career-high scoring from Xavier Bell powers Shocker basketball to 10-3 start
The Wichita State men’s basketball team can now officially turn its attention to the start of American Athletic Conference play.
The objectives on Sunday were to knock off the holiday rust after an eight-day layoff, avoid further injury and handle business against NAIA foe Friends. It wasn’t always pretty, but the Shockers managed to accomplish all three in an 87-72 victory at Koch Arena.
The Shockers improved to 10-3 and now have four days to prepare for Temple in the conference opener in Philadelphia on Friday.
Behind a WSU career-high 29 points from Xavier Bell and second straight double-double from Quincy Ballard (17 points, 16 rebounds, three blocks), the Shockers won their second straight game. Corey Washington scored 14 points with six rebounds and three steals in his first game off the bench this season, while A.J. McGinnis drilled three 3s and scored 11 points.
Friends was led by 18 points off the bench from Collin Maclin, as the Falcons hit 11 three-pointers and forced WSU into 18 turnovers.
1. Xavier Bell delivers career-high scoring performance in Friends win
No Shocker has been playing better than the Wichita native of late.
Xavier Bell continued his torrid scoring pace on Sunday with his third straight 20-point performance, this time coming in a WSU career-high 29-point performance on 11-of-16 shooting against Friends. In Bell’s last five games, he is averaging 20.2 points and has scored double-digits in each game. He fell one point shy of his career high of 30 points, which he scored for Drexel in a Jan. 17, 2022 game against Hofstra.
WSU head coach Paul Mills compared Bell to former NBA great Manu Ginobili, a dominant left-handed player, with ability to always score with the left hand even when defenses know it’s coming.
No one has had much luck stopping Bell in December, as he has done the bulk of his damage on his signature left-handed finishes around the rim. But it’s also worth pointing out that the 6-foot-3 guard has made 5 of 7 (71.4%) of his 3-pointers and 22 of 27 (81.5%) of his free throws during the hot streak.
2. WSU point guard Justin Hill misses game due to injury precaution
Ronnie DeGray III (wrist), Zane Meeks (knee) and T.J. Williams (knee) have grown accustomed to sitting together on the bench this season as they rehabilitate from their respective injuries.
They had a newcomer to the injury section on the WSU bench on Sunday.
Starting point guard Justin Hill missed his first game of the season due to hamstring tightness. A WSU official told The Eagle that Hill missing Sunday’s game was a precaution ahead of the conference opener on Friday. All signs point toward him being available for WSU in Philadelphia on Friday.
WSU head coach Paul Mills used the opportunity to mix up his starting lineup, as he started a four-guard lineup for the first time this season — Bijan Cortes, A.J. McGinnis, Xavier Bell and Harlond Beverly joined by center Quincy Ballard. Ballard delivered his fifth career double-double and third of the season.
The unit meshed well, jumping out to a 14-2 lead on Friends, but trouble arose when Mills dipped into his bench.
Freshman point guard Zion Pipkin figured to be the biggest beneficiary, in terms of playing time, in Hill’s absence, but the Texas native only played 11 minutes off the bench. He finished with two points and one assist, as WSU was outscored by 16 points when he was on the court.
3. After electric start, Shockers turn in lackadaisical first half
The first four minutes of Sunday’s game went as one might expect when a top-100 Division I team faces an NAIA opponent.
But after the Shockers did what they pleased in the opening stretch to build a 14-2 lead, there wasn’t a ton to like from the first-half performance.
Even with Xavier Bell’s consistent attacks on the rim, Friends erased the early deficit and tie the game at 20-20 on a Cahlese Lee 3-pointer with 8:47 remaining in the first half.
While WSU scored 45 points and led by nine at the break, Mills couldn’t have been pleased with the Shockers turning the ball over 10 times. They gave up eight offensive rebounds and allowed the Falcons to drain seven triples. That helped Friends remain competitive for the first 20 minutes.
The Shockers looked like they would pull away when they ballooned their lead to 64-43 with 13 minutes left, but immediately gave up a 10-0 run to let the Falcons to linger for much longer than they should have. Friends was within 11 points with possession a full 32 minutes into the game.
What should have been a trial run for WSU to practice its full-court press, defend 5-out spacing and give freshman point guard Zion Pipkin repetitions of running the offense became an uncomfortably close game — particularly after the Kansas City debacle earlier this month.
Up next: Shockers at Temple, 6 p.m. C.T. Friday, Jan. 3 on ESPN2
WSU opens AAC play on the road against a team that swept the Shockers in the home-and-home series last season. Temple was picked just behind WSU in the preseason coaches poll and is off to a 7-5 start.
Other info about Wichita State-Friends basketball game
- While Sunday’s contest counted toward WSU’s official record, it was considered an exhibition by NAIA rules for the Falcons. It was the 52nd overall meeting between the two Wichita programs, as the two teams hadn’t met since 1970 until WSU won last year’s game 95-65.
- A pair of Wichita natives, both Northwest High graduates, were on Friends’ active roster for the game in the Roundhouse: Kee’on Hutton and Kevin Brown.
- WSU’s win over Kansas State not only snapped a five-game losing streak against its in-state rival, but also gave the Shockers their first victory over a power-four opponent at Koch Arena since Dec. 1, 2018 when they defeated Baylor, 71-63.
- On this date, Dec. 29, the largest crowd in Roundhouse history (11,357) watched the 16th-ranked Shockers upend No. 2-ranked Ohio State, 71-54. Sophomore All-American Dave Stallworth scored 22 points to lead the near wire-to-wire victory.
- WSU senior Xavier Bell recently scored his 1,000 career point in a Dec. 17 game against Kansas City when the Wichita native finished with 21 points. Entering Sunday’s game, Bell had scored 632 of his 1,020 career points with the Shockers.
This story was originally published December 29, 2024 at 6:55 PM.
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