Paul Mills has said it. In order to compete at a high level in conference play, you must be able to find ways to win on the road.
Wichita State learned that lesson the hard way Saturday night inside Halton Arena. Fresh off a 13-point second-half comeback on New Year’s Eve at UAB, the Shockers entered their matchup with Charlotte looking to start 2‑0 in the American Conference for the first time in five seasons.
For a while, it looked like they would.
Wichita State carried a five-point lead into halftime, then built it into an 18‑point advantage with 15 minutes remaining. But from there, everything unraveled.
The 49ers stormed back, erasing their deficit and eventually forcing not one, but two overtimes before handing the Shockers a crushing 104-100 loss.
“Tip your hat to them (Charlotte),” Mills said in a postgame radio interview. “They were able to battle back. This is what happened to us the other day … We can look at a lot of things in order to figure this out, but you have to learn. I think whoever wins this league is going to end up with three or four losses.”
Even a career night from senior guard Kenyon Giles couldn’t save Wichita State (9-6, 1-1 American). Giles poured in 21 first-half points on his way to a career-high 27, but Charlotte (7-8, 1-1) held him to six points after halftime. He went 0-for-2 combined in both overtimes.
The Shockers’ offense sputtered down the stretch, going 6-of-24 over the final 15 minutes of regulation and enduring two separate stretches of five misses. The 49ers capitalized with 7-0 and 10-0 runs to claw back into the game.
A late mistake proved costly as well. With eight seconds left in regulation, junior center Will Berg lost the ball, resulting in a jump ball that favored Charlotte. On the ensuing inbound play, Wichita State overcommitted to the paint, leaving Damoni Harris wide open in the corner for the three that forced overtime.
After nearly closing out the first extra period, the 49ers’ Dezayne Mingo drilled another game-tying shot to extend the game again. In double overtime, it was Mingo who found Arden Conyers for the buzzer-beater that completed the comeback and sealed the Shockers’ collapse.
Mills pointed to rebounding and ball security as major issues. Wichita State was dominated on the glass early, giving up 11 offensive rebounds on 15 Charlotte misses in the first half. Though the Shockers finished plus-nine on the boards, they committed 11 turnovers that led to 20 points for the 49ers.
Mingo and 7-foot-2 center Anton Bonke also caused problems in the pick-and-roll. Mingo finished with 26 points and 10 assists, including the game-tying shot in regulation. Bonke added 16 points and 10 rebounds.
“We got crossmatched a few times,” Mills said. “Then at the same time, just wasn’t able to maintain a matchup and level off like we needed to. You give up that three there late in order to allow them to tie when you’re trying to switch everything. There are areas that we can learn and grow, but this is going to sting.”
Despite the loss, senior forward Karon Boyd set a personal milestone. With his 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, he surpassed 1,000 career points and added 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
Wichita State will get three days to regroup from its double overtime loss before hosting Rice on Wednesday at Koch Arena for the Shockers’ first home game in league play. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Box score breakdown
WSU — 41; 39; 11; 9 — 100
Charlotte — 36; 44; 11; 13 — 104
Shooting (fg-3pt-ft)
WSU: (48% — 39% — 82%)
Charlotte: (49% — 38% — 76%)
Leaders
Points — WSU: Kenyon Giles (27), Karon Boyd (21), TJ Williams (13), Mike Gray Jr. (12), Will Berg (10). Charlotte: Dezayne Mingo (26), Damoni Harrison (22), Anton Bonke (16), Raúl Villar (12), Arden Conyers (11).
Rebounds — WSU: Karon Boyd (12), Will Berg (11), TJ Williams (7). Charlotte: Anton Bonke (11), Raúl Villar (4), Arden Conyers (4), Nick Richart (4).
Assists — WSU: Mike Gray Jr. (4), TJ Williams (3), Kenyon Giles (3). Charlotte: Dezayne Mingo (10), Spencer Elliott (2).
