Bob Lutz: Shocker foursome makes shots count in win over Evansville (+video)

Zach Brown made one shot Wednesday night against Evansville at Koch Arena, a long baseline three-pointer with 19 seconds to play that put the Shockers up by five points and was the biggest shot of the game.

The second biggest shot of the night belonged to senior Evan Wessel, also from the baseline. It was the only shot he made, too.

Rashard Kelly made one shot, a first-half three-pointer from the deep baseline. And Conner Frankamp’s only basket Wednesday was a three-pointer from the right elbow.

Big shots by guys who didn’t make many and they were difference makers in Wichita State’s 67-64 win.

Give Evansville credit because the Purple Aces (13-3, 2-1 MVC) did what few other conference teams have done the past three seasons by pushing WSU to the finish.

It was anybody’s game, really, tied at 57 when Wessel launched his three-pointer with 2:48 to play.

He had previously been 12 of 48 from the three-point line for the season. Brown had been 7 of 25 and Kelly 2 of 12. Frankamp, a proven shooter who is still feeling his way along after sitting out a year following his transfer from Kansas, is at 37 percent from three-point range and climbing.

Still, these four were a combined 27 percent from the arc before making big shots in big situations in a big game.

“All four of those guys made big shots,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said. “Wessel’s gave us a five-point margin and he’s best when he just has to catch and shoot and can’t think about it. Maybe it’s just focus and there was no ‘Should I take this shot’ going through his mind. He’s got to start thinking every time he pulls the trigger that he needs to take the shot.”

The Shockers won on a night when seniors Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet weren’t at their best offensively, combining to make 9 of 25 shots.

VanVleet, though, did have 16 points, nine assists and three steals and Baker had nine points, four rebounds and three assists. They find ways to affect a game positively even when they don’t shoot well. And VanVleet added a key three-pointer of his own with 5:22 remaining to put the Shockers ahead 57-51.

Evansville didn’t go away, though, after two games last season against Wichita State in which the Purple Aces lost their will and scored only 41 and 43 points.

“They played great,” Marshall said. “I thought they really battled until the very end. But so did we.”

Brown, a sophomore forward who spent his 27 minutes of action chasing Evansville scorer D.J. Balentine on the defensive end, said he never lost his offensive focus even though shots weren’t coming his way.

“I heard the countdown, the shot clock was going, and really I just caught it and shot it,” Brown said of his key three-pointer. “There wasn’t a mindset, really, I was just ready when my name was called. Just step up.”

The Shockers still haven’t made it click offensively the way they’re capable of doing. But they’re such a smart team and do so many things well that they’re still averaging nearly 72 points per game despite shooting 41.8 percent overall and 33 percent from the three-point line.

Wichita State is being outshot by opponents from the field, three-point line and free-throw line yet has outscored those opponents by 8.6 points per game.

How?

Because they’ve taken 141 more shots, which has been made possible because of 82 fewer turnovers than the teams they’ve played.

The Shockers haven’t yet been a great shooting or rebounding team, but they don’t beat themselves. They have veterans who take care of the basketball. And that’s why they’re still the team to beat in the Missouri Valley Conference, even with five losses.

Make no mistake, though, they have to be better.

Marshall was encouraged by Anton Grady’s 17-point (8-of-13 shooting), seven-rebound performance Wednesday, calling it the best the 6-foot-8 Cleveland State transfer has played for the Shockers. His recovery from a spinal concussion suffered in late November seems to be a full one.

Getting everyone to click, though, has been a struggle. And Frankamp is a key component.

He played 13 minutes against Evansville and took only one shot. Marshall said he’s not playing as aggressively as he has in practice. Marshall wants more.

“Needs to play basketball,” he said succinctly. “His nickname is ‘More.’ As in Conner ‘More’ Frankamp.”

Frankamp is a versatile offensive guard who can pull up, step back and attack the basket. He does those things in practices, his teammates say.

But there has been a reluctance in games. Perhaps he’s being too deferential to more-experienced teammates.

When Frankamp settles in, the Shockers’ offense will benefit. On a team like this, one with such great veteran leadership and a blue-chip coach, he has time to figure things out.

You can tell, however, that Marshall would like Frankamp to expedite the process.

This story was originally published January 6, 2016 at 10:55 PM with the headline "Bob Lutz: Shocker foursome makes shots count in win over Evansville (+video)."