The Wichita State men’s basketball team defeated Texas Southern on Saturday by a score of 69-63.

In the first half, the Shockers struggled to get any basket to fall, as they shot 5-37 from the field. For the game, WSU went 16-66 from the field and 3-16 from three.

The Shockers started to become more productive on offense in the second, but were not able to pull away from the Tigers until the final buzzer sounded.

Dexter Dennis and Erik Stevenson led the team offensively, combining for 40 points. The duo also tallied 30 of the Shockers’ 46 points in the second half.

The Shockers were without the trio of Jamarius Burton, Josaphat Bilau, and Jaime Echenique. Despite this, freshman guard Noah Fernandes made his Shocker debut and tallied one assist in eight minutes. Bilau is likely the redshirt player for this season as he has not played in either of the first two games.

Despite being impressive in the first contest against Omaha, both Trey Wade and Grant Sherfield struggled shooting the ball from the field. The duo went a combined 2-22 shooting. Sherfield was clutch down the stretch and knocked in important free throws late.

For Texas Southern, Eden Ewing lead the team with 18 points.

Up next, the Shockers will take on Tennessee-Martin next Saturday. The game is scheduled to tip at 2 p.m.