Wichita State basketball falls on buzzer-beater to ECU: 3 takeaways from home loss
The Wichita State men’s basketball team tied the score in the closing seconds of Saturday’s game against East Carolina, then lost the game on a buzzer-beater.
ECU’s R.J. Felton walked into a 28-foot 3-pointer that rattled home as the buzzer sounded to lift the Pirates to a 75-72 victory over the Shockers in the Roundhouse.
ECU improved to 10-9 overall and 2-4 in American Athletic Conference play and won its third straight game over the Shockers, which dropped to 11-7 overall and 1-4 in the conference standings.
And with that, a golden opportunity to build a winning streak at home this week slipped away in a soul-crushing defeat for the Shockers. Corey Washington led the way with 19 points and a career-high 18 rebounds to go along with four steals in a 9-for-25 shooting performance, while Xavier Bell added 18 points.
Justin Hill chipped in 16 points and six assists and Quincy Ballard notched another double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Here are three takeaways from the win:
1. Shockers lose game in a wild finish
ECU led by 5 entering the final three minutes, but WSU rallied to tie the score on a Justin Hill 3-pointer with 1:21 remaining. That kicked off a wild final minute that saw the two teams combine for five different baskets, including two in the final five seconds.
The Shockers never led in the final minute, but often answered. When C.J. Walker (career-high 28 points) scored for a 70-68 lead, Quincy Ballard matched it with a tip-in at the other end. Walker scored again for a 72-70 lead, then ECU caught a break when officials deemed a loose ball rebound was a tie-up rather than awarding WSU a timeout to retain possession.
But ECU’s R.J. Felton failed to extend the lead when he missed the front-end of a bonus free throw with 12.3 seconds left. WSU rushed down the court and tied the game when Hill penetrated and dumped it off to Ballard, who was left wide open for the game-tying slam dunk with 4.1 seconds left.
With no timeouts left, ECU inbounded the ball to Felton, who was given space to dribble the ball up and launch a deep 3-pointer with a decent contest by Hill. The shot from the left wing hit the back rim and rattled home after the horn had sounded. A quick review by the officials confirmed the game-winner by Felton, as the Shockers finished on the wrong end of an emotional roller coaster.
2. Rebounding advantage not enough for WSU in home loss
East Carolina was one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country, but it was WSU who owned the glass on Saturday.
The Shockers were plus-16 in the rebounding battle, 47-31, and grabbed a season-high 20 offensive boards that were turned into 15 second-chance points. Meanwhile, ECU was limited to collecting just 27% of its offensive rebounds — one of its lowest outputs of the season — and finished with just six second-chance points.
So many offensive rebounds were available because WSU struggled mightily to finish inside against ECU’s defense. The Shockers shot just 45.6% (26-of-57) on 2-pointers, their third-worst performance inside the arc this season.
And all of those close shots may have led to a 52-28 advantage in paint points, but that did not translate to WSU earning foul shots. ECU actually shot four more free throws (14 to 10) than WSU, as a 5-for-10 performance at the charity stripe haunted the Shockers in such a close game down the stretch.
3. One of nation’s worst 3-point teams excels vs. WSU
By the numbers, East Carolina was one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the country. Against Division I competition this season, the Pirates ranked No. 357 nationally in 3-point shooting at worse than 27% as a team.
Not that you could tell on Saturday night at Koch Arena.
Not only did ECU steal the victory on a 3-pointer, the Pirates enjoyed their best 3-point shooting game of the season against WSU. They hit 11 shots beyond the arc at a season-best 47.8% clip.
R.J. Felton, who hit the game-winner, entered as a 29% 3-point shooter but hit 3 of 6 beyond the arc, while C.J. Walker, who scored a career-high 28 points, had made just five triples the entire season at a 24% rate; he found his shooting touch against the Shockers and finished a career-best 3-for-3 on 3-pointers. Cam Hayes, another 24% shooter this season, also connected on 2 of 3 against WSU.
ECU isn’t the first team to enjoy immense success beyond the arc against WSU lately. In its 0-3 start to conference play, WSU allowed Temple, South Florida and UTSA to hit a combined 36 3-pointers at 47.4% accuracy.
The Pirates were a team that had struggled mightily this season at scoring efficiently, but they finished Saturday’s game with a healthy 1.13 points per possession against WSU’s defense.
Upcoming schedule for Shocker basketball
at Memphis, 6 p.m. (ESPN2) on Thursday, Jan. 23
at Tulsa, 2 p.m. (ESPN+) on Sunday, Jan. 26
vs. North Texas, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+) on Wednesday, Jan. 29
at Charlotte, 6 p.m. (ESPN2/U) on Tuesday, Feb. 4
at South Florida, 1 p.m. (ESPN+) on Sunday, Feb. 9
American Athletic Conference basketball standings
4-1, North Texas (13-4)
4-1, UAB (11-7)
4-1, Tulane (10-8)
3-1, Memphis (13-4)
3-1, Temple (11-6)
3-2, South Florida (10-8)
2-3, Florida Atlantic (9-9)
2-3, Rice (11-7)
2-3, Tulsa (8-10)
2-4, East Carolina (10-9)
1-4, Wichita State (11-7)
0-5, Charlotte (7-11)
This story was originally published January 18, 2025 at 9:46 PM.
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