One halftime adjustment flipped the momentum — and the scoreboard — on Wichita State’s senior day.

For nearly 28 minutes Saturday inside Koch Arena, the game resembled a heavyweight fight. Neither team could build separation as they traded punches and counterpunches.

Florida Atlantic guard Kanaan Carlyle set the tone early, scoring at will in the first half. He finished the opening 20 minutes with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, forcing Paul Mills and the Shockers’ staff to find an answer.

That answer came midway through the second half.

Junior guard Dre Kindell entered with 15:41 remaining and drew the assignment of guarding Carlyle — the moment the game began to turn. Carlyle didn’t make another field goal the rest of the afternoon, and the Owls went without one over the final 11:46.

“Dre Kindell really limited touches,” Mills said. “Dre Kindell flipped the script.”

Kindell shadowed Florida Atlantic’s playmaker everywhere, bumping him off his spots, contesting from awkward angles and wearing him down possession after possession. Mills said the coaching staff discussed the matchup at halftime, searching for someone who could slow Carlyle’s rhythm without giving up the defensive scheme.

The defensive adjustment sparked an 88-70 Wichita State win — and helped deliver the kind of senior sendoff Mills said he hoped for.

Kindell’s impact barely showed up in the box score. He finished with two points and four assists, but his defensive presence helped Wichita State turn a one-point game into a comfortable lead by converting stops into transition opportunities.

“It’s simple. Dre’s a dawg,” senior forward Karon Boyd said. “He lights that fire and ignition. We just feed off his energy, and that’s when we went on that stretch where we started denying them.”

The energy spread quickly.

Possession after possession, Florida Atlantic searched for a clean look and found none. Wichita State turned stops into fast breaks, feeding off the growing roar inside Koch Arena.

The Owls missed their last 12 shots during the decisive 28-9 run. All of their points in that stretch came at the foul line.

Soon, the highlights followed.

Senior guard Kenyon Giles poked the ball loose and pushed the break before finding Boyd ahead in transition. Boyd quickly dropped it to sophomore Dillon Battie streaking down the lane, who hammered home a windmill dunk that sent the Roundhouse into a frenzy and pushed the lead to 80-67.

Moments later, senior center Emmanuel Okorafor followed with a dunk of his own.

The surge gave Wichita State’s seniors a chance to check out to a standing ovation in the closing minutes. But it started with the defensive assignment that slowed Carlyle.

On a day meant to celebrate the seniors, the adjustment that ultimately flipped the game didn’t show up in the box score.

“Sometimes players, their gift is enthusiasm,” Mills said. “Dre Kindell is that way. His gift is he’s got energy that’s just different than anybody else.”