Shockers solve some issues, but late-game offense still eludes WSU in latest loss
If the Wichita State men’s basketball team was a ship that was leaking, the team managed to plug some holes in Wednesday’s showdown against conference leader North Texas.
But the plugs used to fix some problems — perimeter defense, turnovers and lethargic starts out of halftime — led to new problems emerging down the stretch of a close game.
The Shockers held a 3-point lead with the ball entering the final seven minutes, but they were out-played in crunch time by a North Texas team that won its third straight game at Koch Arena in a 58-54 victory. And as a result, WSU (11-10, 1-7 AAC) continued to sink to the bottom of the American Athletic Conference.
“There’s just some plays that have to be made down the stretch that we need to make sure we make,” WSU head coach Paul Mills said.
“I’ve always thought the last five minutes of a game are for players. This is when guys can show up and take advantage and trust their work. We’ve got to give them some cleaner looks and some opportunities, but again, you’ve got to be able to convert some plays late.”
WSU produced some of its best play of the season to pummel North Texas for 21 points on its first 10 possessions coming out of halftime, but fumbled a pristine chance to spark a turnaround by scoring just one field goal in the final nine minutes of the game.
When the stakes raised in the final 10 possessions of the game, North Texas executed and WSU did not. The Mean Green maximized every opportunity, while the Shockers coughed up two late-game possessions with turnovers that led to points at the other end.
As a result, North Texas won the final seven minutes 11-4 to rally to victory.
“The margin between whoever is first and whoever is 13 (in the AAC) is pretty slim,” Mills said. “So this whole process, you’ve got to find a way to make some plays late. We can simplify some stuff, but there are some plays we need to be able to make.”
Like when WSU had a 3-point lead and senior point guard Justin Hill tried to add to it, only his dump-off pass to Quincy Ballard was picked off for a turnover. At the other end, there was a 1-on-1 matchup late in the shot clock and it was UNT’s Brenen Lorient who made the play over WSU’s Corey Washington for a basket.
On the next Mean Green possession, for some reason Hill and Ballard switched a ball screen and left Hill (5-foot-11, 191 pounds) on an island against UNT center Moulaye Sissoko (6-9, 245). WSU had to send help to dissuade the pass, which left sharpshooter Atin Wright wide open for a corner 3 he drilled for a 52-50 lead.
Another 1-on-1 play shaped up late in the shot clock on an ensuing UNT possession, this time reserve Johnathan Massie took WSU’s A.J. McGinnis off the dribble and finished over Ballard for another bucket and a 54-50 lead. On the other end, WSU ran a set play that manufactured an open look from 3 for McGinnis, who missed, and when Washington was fouled on the offensive rebound putback, he missed two straight free throws with 3:24 left.
“We just need to get in the lab,” McGinnis said. “Continue to trust our work that we’re already putting in, but at the same time, making sure we’re going as hard as we can on offense in practice. Sometimes offense may not seem like a big deal, but it’s very important, especially in tight games like that.”
Not long after, WSU had a chance to tie or take the lead but its offense was discombobulated when the ball was poked out and WSU had to recover in its own backcourt. When Xavier Bell crossed halfcourt again with 10 seconds left on the shot clock, there was still still to run a quick action, but instead WSU’s offense stood frozen. That put the onus on Bell to create something out of nothing and with no off-ball movement, UNT’s defense was able to swarm him on his drive and scrape the ball loose. The turnover led directly to two free throws at the other end for Massie, who staked the Mean Green to a 56-52 lead with 1:46 left.
“Coach always says the last five minutes, that’s when players show up,” said Bell, who scored a game-high 19 points. “It’s really about understanding the game is getting tighter and tighter as the clock winds down and the defense is going to start picking up on the little stuff that you’re doing.”
“It’s ball movement more than anything,” Mills said about WSU’s late-game offensive struggles. “There’s availability there, but you have to loosen it up a little bit. There’s some 3s that have to be made in order to give us an opportunity to put ourselves in position. There’s just some plays that you’ve got to make.”
Mills also pointed out his plan to ride WSU’s starting lineup took an unexpected departure when Harlond Beverly was forced to exit the game with 7:24 left after taking an elbow to the face. Mills called it a “disruption” and WSU did not score a field goal in Beverly’s 4-minute absence in crunch time.
Beverly’s presence was felt on the only field goal WSU did score in the final nine minutes, as the senior lifted up the floor to take his defender with him on a WSU pick-and-roll that gave Hill the proper angle to find Ballard for an easy slam with 1:34 left to trim North Texas’ lead to 56-54.
But when WSU absolutely needed a stop, North Texas once again won the execution battle.
The Mean Green took advantage of WSU’s switch-everything defense to set screens that left Bell, a guard, defending Lorient, a 6-9 forward. The ball was fed to Lorient at the elbow and the passer cut through, which confused WSU’s guards on a possible switch and allowed Lorient to drive with his dominant hand to the basket. Meanwhile, Sissoko was taking care of WSU’s elite shot-blocking threat by ducking in to bury Ballard behind him and clear a path for Lorient to score a wide-open layup for a 4-point lead with 1:09 left.
“It felt like we played with a level of desperation and a higher sense of urgency down the stretch,” North Texas coach Ross Hodge said. “We got fortunate they missed some makeable shots, but I thought we did a better job of keeping the ball out of the paint.”
After WSU missed a 3, Mills made the split-second decision to not foul with an 18-second difference on the game clock and shot clock and his team trailing by 4 points.
The Shockers forced the miss they needed and if they would have secured the rebound, they would have had 19 seconds left and two timeouts to work with. But WSU failed to come up with the long rebound, as North Texas grabbed its 13th offensive rebound to all but ice the game.
“You’re thinking about fouling, but you notice there’s probably a 14-second difference, so you’re hoping you could get a score in 6, 7, 8 and then use one of the two remaining timeouts,” Mills said. “But we cannot give up 13 offensive boards and give ourselves a chance.”
While WSU came up short down the stretch, overall its effort against North Texas was much improved from its previous game at Tulsa. But in the end, WSU lost its fourth straight game.
The Shockers have nearly a week off before returning to action next Tuesday at Charlotte, their only win in conference play.
“There’s a lot of fight (in WSU), so to be honest with you, I’m not worried about the lack of internal fortitude,” Mills said. “I think that’s there. We’ve got to find a way as a staff to get these guys a little better defensively and clean this up.”
This story was originally published January 31, 2025 at 10:07 AM.
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