Senior guard Kenyon Giles’ stay at Wichita State will not be forgotten anytime soon.
That’s because he wrote his name at the top of an elite list in the Shockers’ record book Sunday night against Texas-San Antonio. Giles poured in six threes during Wichita State’s 84-67 win at the Convocation Center, upping his season total to 102 this season.
Colby Rogers set the previous record of 99 in 2023-24.
Giles finished the night with a game-high 28 points, leading the Shockers (20-10, 12-5 American) to their first 20-win season since 2019-20. More importantly, Wichita State secured at least the No. 3 seed for a bye all the way to the quarterfinals at the American Conference Championship after Charlotte and UAB’s losses.
UTSA (5-24, 1-16) fell victim to the Shockers’ fifth-straight win and was held to 33.3% marks from the floor and 29.4% from deep. Battered by injuries all season, only six Roadrunners saw the court Sunday.
Wichita State continued its season-long trend of controlling the boards in dominant fashion against the Roadrunners, securing a season-high 55 rebounds — the most since pulling down 67 in a win over Savannah State in 2017 — for a plus-17 advantage.
Junior center Will Berg grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds and scored 10 points for his eighth double-double of the season and a mark of plus-25 in the box plus/minus. Freshman TJ Williams and seniors Emmanuel Okorafor and Karon Boyd combined for 25 rebounds.
Next up, the Shockers wrap up their regular season against Florida Atlantic at 3 p.m. Saturday at Koch Arena with a chance at securing the No. 2 seed in the conference and the coveted triple-bye to the tournament’s semifinals.
For now, here are three takeaways from Wichita State’s win in its final road game this season:
Kenyon Giles rewrites Wichita State’s record books
Rogers’ single-season 3-point record of 99 has been in jeopardy since Wichita State’s game against Temple on Feb. 21.
Giles, a proven sharp shooter, poured in his 93rd of the season after making five against the Owls. He made three against Memphis on Thursday to bump his total to just three away from tying the record.
Giles did it with 13:18 left in the second half against UTSA. He owned it not even two minutes later, becoming a permanent part of the Shockers’ 120-year-long history.
Giles finished with his 102nd triple of the year and still has at least two games to push the record even further.
12-0 second half run puts Roadrunners to rest
UTSA cut its 41-29 halftime deficit down to six less than five minutes into the second half, but the Shockers seized full control of the game with a 12-0 run right after.
It all started on the offensive glass, when junior center Will Berg crashed for a second-chance putback. Freshman forward TJ Williams turned a rebound on the defensive end into a coast-to-coast layup, and Berg made another tip-in layup.
Wichita State wasn’t done there.
Giles rattled off 3-pointers No. 99 and 100 two minutes later, and the Shockers’ lead ballooned to 18 points, 61-43. The Roadrunners never cut the lead below 11 the rest of the half, and Wichita State left the Convocation Center with its 20th win of the season.
Shockers and UTSA slog through first half
Even though the Shockers led by 12 before the break, that doesn’t paint the full picture of the first half Sunday night.
The opening 20 minutes were grueling, with Wichita State shooting 35% (14-of-40) from the floor to UTSA’s 21% (7-of-34).
The teams lived at the foul line throughout most of it. They shot a combined 27 attempts at the stripe and converted 86.1% of them. The Shockers were 10-of-11; UTSA shot 13-for-16.
Sophomore forward Dillon Battie did most of the damage, making 8-of-9 untimed shots and finished with 12 points at halftime to lead all scorers. He also snagged five rebounds. Williams put in eight of his own and grabbed six boards.
The Shockers continued their season-long trend of dominating the glass, securing 31 to UTSA’s 24. Ten of which on the offensive end were converted into 14 second-chance points.
