Wichita State’s crunch-time offense has blossomed during hoops winning streak. Here’s how
Defense and rebounding have been the framework for a mid-season turnaround on the Wichita State men’s basketball team.
But just as crucial to the 5-game winning streak has been the Shockers’ execution down the stretch of close games, which once again was the case in their 75-68 win over Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton on Thursday.
It wasn’t as if WSU was stringing together defensive stops in crunch time, as the Owls scored a healthy 13 points in their final 11 possessions. The difference was WSU torched FAU for 20 points in its final 11 trips down the floor to pull away from a tied game entering the final seven minutes.
“I think we’re smarter with our possessions and knowing how to value them more,” said WSU point guard Bijan Cortes, who scored a career-high 16 points with seven assists. “We know when to push the ball and when to hold the ball and when to get into our actions. I think that’s helping us get the best shot we can get.”
Simply put, WSU is making shots that it used to miss and making plays that it used to come up empty on during a 1-7 start in American Athletic Conference play.
Here’s a closer look at the seven winning plays the Shockers made down the stretch in Boca Raton to continue their surge up the conference standings.
1. Bijan Cortes drills a corner 3
The basket to break a 55-all tie was a perfect example of the Shockers solving a dilemma that used to haunt them.
Like all WSU opponents, FAU loaded up its help defense in the paint when WSU tried to attack the basket. Harlond Beverly was cut off by a second defender before even reaching the paint, then Corey Washington cut hard to the hole, which took away another help defender and left Bijan Cortes standing by himself in the corner.
This was the math that wasn’t adding up earlier in the season, as WSU too often let teams off the hook by being unable to make open 3-pointers when defenses left players alone on the perimeter. But this time, when Beverly whipped the pass to the corner, Cortes was ready and buried the corner 3 in front of his own bench.
“Coach always stresses it that the last five, six minutes of a game are for players to show up,” said WSU senior Xavier Bell, who scored a game-high 24 points. “That was Bijan trusting himself, trusting the work he’s put in and making a big play.”
2. Back-to-back triples for Cortes
The ensuing possession for WSU created another familiar predicament the team has faced countless times throughout the season.
When Bell began his attack in the middle of the floor, FAU immediately sent a second defender his way, as KyKy Tandy did not hesitate to leave Cortes on the wing to go double team WSU’s leading scorer. The challenge for WSU has been for the ball handler to recognize the crowd, make the kick-out pass and, once again, for the receiving player to punish the defense.
Cortes is a player who thrives on confidence and he was brimming with it after nailing the corner 3, not to mention coming off a career-best performance last game against Memphis.
“I think that confidence from last game helped me so much,” Cortes said. “My teammates always tell me to keep shooting because we’re a better team when I’m being aggressive. So that’s what helped me in that moment.”
In the past, Cortes would have been reluctant to shoot and forced a play late in the shot clock, which is where he has found trouble. But on Thursday, the new-look Cortes pump-faked Tandy on the late contest, took an escape dribble to the side and confidently pulled the trigger on a top-of-the-key triple that never touched the rim — just like his go-ahead 3 in overtime against Memphis.
3. Shockers go to bread-and-butter play for Xavier Bell
No matter how many times Bell goes left, defenses seem to be unable to shut down his left hand.
WSU’s leading scorer terrorized the Owls throughout the evening with a variety of left-handed finishes, including several key buckets down the stretch. On his first crunch-time bucket, Bell was once again the beneficiary of a bread-and-butter play WSU has run consistently for two years now.
It’s as simple as WSU clearing out the left side of the lane to give Bell space to attack downhill from out front. It’s a play WSU has run multiple times in a game and one FAU surely saw plenty of times on the scouting report, but in live game action, FAU’s Ken Evans Jr. actually shaded Bell to his right and allowed the dominant left-hand player to drive comfortably to his left and score an uncontested layup.
“Oh, there sure was,” FAU coach John Jakus said when asked if his team had a plan to stop Bell’s left hand. “But he got to it anyway. That was in the scout and it was addressed for a couple of days and we just did not execute it.”
4. WSU clears out another left-hand drive for Bell
What has stood out about WSU’s late-game success is that the team does not rely on extravagant sets. Instead, Paul Mills has leaned more on creating mismatches and giving his players the space required to make plays.
That was the case with WSU clinging to a 63-60 lead, as the Shockers seemed to be running through the motions going through a dribble weave. But every move had a purpose.
Beverly and Corey Washington drifted to the right corner in order to clear out the left side of the floor. Cortes, who had just made two 3s, dragged his defender with him deep in the left corner. And because WSU knew FAU was switching all ball screens, Quincy Ballard set one for Bell out front, which put the ball in the hands of WSU’s leading scorer with the left side of the floor spaced out for him to attack FAU big man Tre Carroll.
“There’s a simplicity to what we’re doing and the guys understand it,” Mills said. “It isn’t as if we’re adding a whole bunch of things. I think we just got a lot simpler.”
It was an example of a coach putting his players in a position to succeed, as Bell capitalized on the advantage by drawing a foul on Carroll at the rim and making both free throws to extend WSU’s lead.
5. Corey Washington bails Shockers out with late-clock 3
Sometimes you can throw the X’s and O’s out the window. In crunch time, sometimes you just need players to step up and make big-time plays.
The Shockers were void of those kind of shots a month ago. But now, they are beginning to come through in those clutch moments.
Corey Washington certainly delivered to bail the Shockers out of a dire situation with the shot clock expiring and the team clinging to a one-possession lead in the final two minutes. Cortes tried to locate Washington with a skip pass, but it was off target and the 6-foot-5 forward had to come off his spot to track down the ball and take a dribble to get back behind the 3-point line before launching a contested jumper right in front of Mills.
The low-percentage shot found the bottom of the net as the shot clock ran out to boost WSU’s lead to 68-62 with 1:39 left.
“Those late 3s are kind of daggers for the other team,” Mills said. “You have to be able to capitalize on them.”
6. Harlond Beverly finds a bit of luck
More often than not, a team requires a lucky bounce along the way to pull out a close win on the road.
WSU caught its break in the final minute when the Owls poked the ball out from Beverly and FAU’s Baba Miller appeared to come away with the steal. But Beverly stuck with the play and briefly tied the ball up, which was apparently long enough for an official to blow his whistle for a jump ball, which awarded WSU the possession back.
Instead of the Owls having a chance to cut further into the deficit or even tie the game, the Shockers had a new 20-second shot clock and the ball underneath their own basket with 50.3 seconds left.
The only thing left was for WSU to capitalize on its lucky break.
7. Bell goes to work with his left to secure victory
Given a second crack at extending its lead in the final minute, Mills entrusted the ball with Bell and once again worked the switch to plant Carroll, FAU’s big man, on Bell out front.
“You knew he was going to be able to get a quality shot for us,” Mills said. “And what you also end up with is an offensive rebound advantage when he drives. He’s got really good touch, but even if he misses it, we’re going to have a good chance at another opportunity because they’re cross matched.”
There was no secondary plan needed, however.
It may seem at times like Bell simply lowers his head, bull rushes his way to the rim and throws shots up with his left hand. But there is true artistry in his work.
When Bell initially began his attack, FAU had a help defender planted in the gap he wanted to drive, so he pulled the ball back to his right hand with a hesitation dribble. That slight move was enough to persuade the help defender to retreat to his man on the other side of the court, not to mention rock Carroll back to the right.
After putting the FAU big man off balanced, Bell dribbled between his legs and exploded down the now vacant left side of the lane. He also made the calculated decision to pull up along the baseline, like he has done countless times in his career, and use his left hand to float the ball over the contest and kiss the ball off the glass for what was essentially the game-sealing bucket.
Bell scored nine of WSU’s 14 points in the final five minutes.
“It’s just that repetitive nature for me,” Bell said of his left-hand finish. “Really, it’s about trusting my strengths and trusting my teammates to create that space and then trusting our play calls. We knew we had to stick together and it was going to take all of us, not just one of us, to pull that out.”
This story was originally published February 21, 2025 at 6:02 AM.
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