Gritty road wins, born out of inner reliance, have defined some of the most celebrated seasons for Wichita State basketball. 

In recent years, however, that trend has faltered for the Shockers. They’ve only managed to finish with a winning record in road contests once in the last four seasons. Wichita State won 75.6% of such games across 11 seasons before that period.

But now, in Paul Mills’ third year as head coach, a different feeling permeates the locker room. It was exemplified in Thursday’s 88-82 road win at Memphis, which snapped an eight-year, seven-game skid at FedExForum.

“You see teams sometimes where, ‘Man, we need a play made by somebody in order to come out (on top),’” Mills said in his postgame radio interview. “But there’s a lot of belief in that room, and it helps when you have certain guys that believe in themselves. … There’s a lot to be proud of.”

How Wichita State battled on Beale Street

The Shockers (19-10, 11-5 American) secured their fourth-straight win despite 20% 3-point shooting, a 27.5% first-half field goal percentage, 66 combined points from Memphis (12-16, 7-8) guards Dug McDaniel, Quante Berry and Sincere Parker, and a late Tigers push.

They maintain a share of second place in the conference standings and tiebreak over Tulsa, the only other team also 11-5 in the league.

Wichita State needed a disciplined, yet physical, approach to handle Memphis and complete the season sweep — the program’s first since joining the American Conference. The Shockers outrebounded the Tigers by 17 (44-27) and grabbed three times as many offensive boards (18-6).

They protected the ball well, coughing it up only eight times despite some late lapses. Crucially, Wichita State knocked down 26-of-33 shots from the line after entering the game ranked 327th in the country in free throw percentage (67.6%).

And when the Shockers opened up a 13-point second-half lead, previous stings began to reoccur.

Memphis rallied and eventually flipped the scoreboard to a one-point lead favoring the Tigers, with under three minutes to play. The lead flip-flopped positions six more times until Wichita State found a late 7-0 surge of its own on the back of staunch defense and clutch shot-making to put the game away.

“Just really happy for our guys that we were able to pull this out,” Mills said in his postgame radio interview. “Because I think these games end up kind of being confidence boosters and helping you know that you can weather any storm that comes your way.”

Kenyon Giles hit the dagger, again

Senior guard Kenyon Giles has already compiled a folder of clutch-time shots in his lone season at Wichita State and added another case to his file Thursday night.

The Shockers, clinging to a one-point lead with under 30 seconds left after senior forward Karon Boyd calmly knocked down two free throws, grabbed a McDaniels misfire from beyond the arc and set up their offense.

While most teams would’ve called a timeout to set up a play, Wichita State decided to run its set without a break in the action. It proved to be a game-defining sequence.

Giles dribbled around midcourt, probing for an opening, before the 30-second shot clock sounded. Then, all the space he needed was given to him. 

Parker sagged just enough for the scoring dynamo to rise from a few feet beyond the arc and drain his third 3-pointer of the game to give the Shockers a four-point advantage. The crowd inside FedExForum fell silent while roars from Wichita State’s bench filled the empty air.

Mills said the decision to let the sequence run out was by design.

“Even if he misses that shot, I trust Will (Berg) to get his hands on it. I trust TJ (Williams) to get his hands on it,” he said.

That kind of confidence from a coach to the players is what carries a team come March.

“There’s a lot of over-coaching, thinking you have some magic play and if we run this, we know it’ll work,” Mills said. “I’ve just always been a big believer in that you have to trust your leaders on the court.”

Big contributions across the board

It took more than just Giles’ big shot for Wichita State to snap its losing streak on Beale Street.

The Shockers dominated the boards, including 17 first-half offensive rebounds for as many second-chance points. They shot their best mark from the free throw line over the last 13 games at 78.8% and made more than Memphis had attempted. 

Junior guard Dre Kindell’s defense stopped an estimated 63.5% of possessions, including a last-second rebound and coast-to-coast layup to extend the lead to six and cap a 7-0 run over the final minute-and-a-half.

“KG’s shot put us up four, able to get a stop, and then Dre’s able to finish it off and allow us to win by six,” Mills said. “That was a pretty quick 25 seconds there — a one-point lead (and) all of a sudden it was a six-point win.”

Senior forward Karon Boyd scored 14 points, which included an 8-of-11 mark at the free throw line. Junior center Will Berg crashed for 12 boards and 12 put in points for his seventh double-double this season, and shot a perfect 3-for-3 from the field and 6-for-6 from the stripe in 23 minutes off the bench.

Five different Shockers scored in double-digits, underscoring a much-needed balanced attack to fend off Memphis on the road.

“It’s the first time all year when we’ve been able to win four in a row,” Mills said. “I’m glad we have some momentum this time of year, because winning games on the road gives you a little bit of a spark.”

With the Beale Street band-aid lifted and momentum that comes from four-straight wins, Wichita State is playing some of its best basketball in years. And the Shockers’ win Thursday night was just the latest example of a belief being reborn.