Shocker report: WSU 53, Alabama 52
Tuesday’s box score
No. 11 Wichita St. 53, Alabama 52
ALABAMA | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
Tarrant | 31 | 3-8 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
Kessens | 20 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
Taylor | 25 | 2-2 | 2-3 | 2-5 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
Randolph | 38 | 4-6 | 3-5 | 0-5 | 2 | 0 | 13 |
Cooper | 29 | 2-7 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Norris | 10 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Coleman | 8 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Hale | 25 | 5-11 | 1-2 | 0-2 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
Obasohan | 14 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Totals | 200 | 20-43 | 7-12 | 6-28 | 8 | 16 | 52 |
Percentages: FG .465, FT .583. 3-Point Goals: 5-16, .313 (Randolph 2-2, Hale 2-5, Tarrant 1-5, Coleman 0-1, Cooper 0-3). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 4 (Taylor 3, Hale). Turnovers: 11 (Hale 4, Cooper 3, Taylor, Randolph, Kessens). Steals: 4 (Cooper, Hale, Kessens, Randolph). Technical Fouls: None.
WICHITA ST. | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
Wessel | 12 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Carter | 31 | 6-11 | 4-6 | 2-6 | 0 | 2 | 16 |
VanVleet | 34 | 4-6 | 0-2 | 1-7 | 5 | 2 | 9 |
Baker | 39 | 5-12 | 1-1 | 2-5 | 2 | 1 | 14 |
Cotton | 32 | 0-6 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
Kelly | 22 | 2-4 | 1-4 | 2-4 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
Henderson Jr | 3 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Holland | 12 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Nurger | 7 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Wamukota | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Morris | 8 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Totals | 200 | 20-49 | 8-17 | 12-32 | 14 | 12 | 53 |
Percentages: FG .408, FT .471. 3-Point Goals: 5-18, .278 (Baker 3-7, VanVleet 1-1, Holland 1-3, Henderson Jr. 0-1, Wessel 0-2, Cotton 0-4). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 0. Turnovers: 10 (VanVleet 3, Carter 2, Kelly 2, Wessel, Cotton, Baker). Steals: 5 (Baker, VanVleet, Nurger, Kelly, Carter). Technical Fouls: None.
Alabama | 25 | 27 | — | 52 |
Wichita St. | 24 | 29 | — | 53 |
A—10,506. Officials—Mark Whitehead, Doug Shows, Don Daily.
Home rules
Wichita State’s 23-game winning streak in Wichita started on Nov. 9, 2013 against Emporia State. The Shockers went 16-0 at Koch Arena and 1-0 at Intrust Bank Arena last season.
Tuesday’s win over Alabama broke the mark set by coach Gene Smithson’s teams in the early 1980s. That 22-game streak started with a win over Indiana State on Feb. 18, 1982 and continued through a win over New Orleans on Dec. 20, 1983. Temple ended the streak two days later with a 78-73 win at Levitt Arena.
The sellout crowd of 10,506 enjoyed a thriller to set the record. The fans did their part with a wall of noise in the final six minutes when the Shockers rallied from an 11-point deficit.
“Our fans are always here backing us anytime we need them,” WSU junior Ron Baker said. “The crowd is just really into it and knows what’s going on.”
Wessel tries to play
WSU forward Evan Wessel surprised almost everybody when he started the second half.
He left the game late in the first half after landing on his right ankle and bending it at a nasty angle. He couldn’t put weight on it and needed help from the trainers to reach the training room.
“I was pretty surprised,” Baker said. “He was hurting, walking around the locker room at halftime.”
Wessel started the second half and came out quickly after it became obvious he couldn’t move well enough to play. WSU coach Gregg Marshall said he will see a doctor on Wednesday.
“There's not a tougher guy in this arena,” Marshall said. “I thought he might have had something really serious, and it still could be. It obviously didn’t look good, so we’ll see.”
Kelly comes through
Wichita State freshman Rashard Kelly earned his minutes with rebounds and hustle plays. On Tuesday, he revealed more of his offensive skills in a crucial time.
Kelly came up big in the final minutes, scoring to cut Alabama’s lead to 51-49 with 2:38 remaining. He drove from near the foul line and tied the game with a floater at 51-all with 1:20 to play.
“They kind of left me open,” Kelly said. “I made a simple play, one that I’m comfortable with.”
Just what WSU Marshall wants to hear.
“That was a big basket,” Marshall said. “They were overplaying so much he was out there setting screens and finally had nobody to pass it too. Last resort was, just drive it. He can do that.”
Kelly played a season-high 22 minutes, in part because of Wessel’s ankle injury. Kelly scored five points and grabbed four rebounds.
Paul Suellentrop
This story was originally published December 16, 2014 at 11:14 PM with the headline "Shocker report: WSU 53, Alabama 52."