Shorthanded Shockers pick up first road AAC win to sweep Charlotte: 3 takeaways
In a battle to avoid last place in the American Athletic Conference, a shorthanded Wichita State men’s basketball team finished off a sweep of Charlotte with a 66-58 win at Halton Arena on Tuesday.
The Shockers were missing two starters in point guard Justin Hill (toe) and wing Harlond Beverly (concussion) but made do to snap a 4-game losing streak and pull out their first road win in conference play. WSU (12-10) improved to 2-7 in the AAC standings, while Charlotte (8-15) dropped to 1-9.
Corey Washington led the way for the Shockers with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Quincy Ballard notched his seventh double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Even with its usual suspect outside shooting (2 of 12), WSU made 53% of its shots and scored a healthy 1.14 points per possession.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
1. Shockers pull away late to secure first road AAC win
One game doesn’t signify a turnaround, but Tuesday’s win on the road was a solid start — even if it did come against the last-place team in the conference.
It took the Shockers until Feb. 28 last season to win their first conference road game, so the Feb. 4 win at least marked some improvement. It also kicked off the final 10 games of the regular season with a victory, as WSU will look to build a winning streak on the road at South Florida on Sunday.
As for Tuesday’s game, it was mostly a back-and-forth battle between the pair of 1-win AAC teams until WSU separated itself with a 14-2 run late in the second half that was finished off by back-to-back baskets by Quincy Ballard for a 61-50 lead.
Always one for dramatics, the Shockers missed five straight free throws in the final 5:21 — much to the delight of the college students in attendance who scored free Chick-fil-A nuggets as a result — that left the door open for Charlotte to rally within 61-58 on a Jaehshon Thomas 3-pointer with 57 seconds left.
But WSU managed to close out the win with two straight Bijan Cortes free throws followed by a Quincy Ballard block and two more foul shots by Xavier Bell.
2. Corey Washington brings the energy for shorthanded WSU
With WSU missing two of its primary playmakers, Washington shouldered the offensive load for the Shockers against Charlotte. He finished with a game-high 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting to go with 10 rebounds.
Washington scored several of his baskets in transition where he was able to attack Charlotte’s back-pedaling defense and win one-on-one battles with his aggression. After WSU fell in a 20-10 deficit midway through the first half, Washington scored three straight layups to spark an 11-4 run the Shockers used to help take a 33-31 halftime lead.
The 6-foot-5 forward also scored a key basket in the second half to help WSU solve Charlotte’s zone defense. When the ball was funneled to Washington in the middle of the zone, he attacked the last line of defense, drew the foul and finished a difficult basket for a 3-point play that gave WSU a 50-48 lead with 7:53 left.
That play kicked off what became the game-winning 14-2 run for WSU, which also included another 3-point play by Washington on a 1-on-1 move that he finished through contact.
3. Freshman Zion Pipkin gets chance with injuries on Shockers
With Hill and Beverly out, more than 58 minutes opened up in coach Paul Mills’ rotation for Tuesday’s game.
That meant the first real opportunity for freshman point guard Zion Pipkin to make an impression in American Athletic Conference play. Pipkin had made just seven appearances this season and averaged 6.5 minutes per game.
While senior Bijan Cortes earned the start, Mills wasn’t shy about using Pipkin early and often to run the team’s offense. The freshman from Houston didn’t dazzle, but held up well for his first real experience coming on the road and finished with 1 point, 1 rebound and 3 assists in a career-high 14 minutes.
More importantly, WSU won those 14 minutes with Pipkin on the court by eight points, which earned him the victory chain from Mills after the game in the post-game locker room celebration.
Upcoming schedule for Shocker basketball
at South Florida, 1 p.m. (ESPN+) on Sunday, Feb. 9
vs. UTSA, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+) on Wednesday, Feb. 12
vs. Memphis, 11 a.m. (ESPN/2/U) on Sunday, Feb. 16
at Florida Atlantic, 8 p.m. (ESPN+) on Thursday, Feb. 20
vs. Tulane, 1 p.m. (ESPN+) on Sunday, Feb. 23
American Athletic Conference basketball standings
8-1, Memphis (18-4)
8-2, UAB (15-8)
7-3, North Texas (16-6)
6-3, Temple (14-8)
6-3, Tulane (12-10)
5-4, Florida Atlantic (12-10)
4-5, East Carolina (12-10)
4-5, South Florida (11-11)
4-5, UTSA (10-11)
3-6, Tulsa (9-13)
2-7, Rice (11-11)
2-7, Wichita State (12-10)
1-9, Charlotte (8-15)
This story was originally published February 4, 2025 at 8:02 PM.
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