Wichita State returned to its’ winning ways on Thursday, defeating Central Arkansas 95-69 in dominant fashion.

Head Coach Gregg Marshall decided to switch up the Shockers’ starting lineup following the loss to West Virginia in Cancun.

Against UCA, Marshall added Jamarius Burton, Tyson Etienne, and Jaime to the starting unit and brought Grant Sherfield, Dexter Dennis, and Morris Udeze to the bench.

Marshall said he was happy with how the new additions played, even though he doesn’t put too much stock in who starts.

“I just try to go with guys that have been playing well in practice and guys that are tough and smart,” Marshall said. “I want to play hard and I want to play smart. I want to be a tough basketball team, and those three guys — all five guys, really — have exemplified that in the last couple of weeks, in games and in practices.

“Again, I don’t put much stock in it. I just look at who has the best plus-minus, and tonight, it was Jamarius (Burton), Erik (Stevenson), and Dexter (Dennis).”

One of the players who responded well to his new role off the bench was Grant Sherfield. The Wichita native tallied 14 of his 15 points in the first half, all while besting his season total from downtown by knocking in three triples in the first half. 

“I never really lost confidence in the three-point shot,” Sherfield said. “I know I can shoot it well. My teammates know it, Coach knows it. The coaches and players were on me to keep shooting it.”

Marshall confirmed his faith in the freshman point guard. By playing off the ball and letting Jamarius Burton and Noah Fernandes at the point guard position tonight, Sherfield was able to get going offensively.

“He’s a great shooter,” Marshall said. “He’s a great scorer. Tonight, when he was playing, he was playing a little bit off of the ball. Obviously, he’s a point guard, but he can play off the ball too. He’s 6-2 at least, he can shoot it, and I think it freed him up to be more aggressive offensively.

“I don’t know why he hasn’t been this aggressive as a point guard, because I want my point guards to be aggressive and go until you’re stopped, and then when you’re stopped make a good jump-stop and make a solid pass and a good decision.”

The Shockers also made some history against UCA by forcing a total of 30 turnovers — the most in program history in the past 35 years. In a December 1984 win against Hartford, WSU forced 34 turnovers.

The Shockers also had 10 different players combine for 16 steals — the Shockers’ most in over a decade and top-five all-time in school history. 

Marshall used the press effectively throughout, which caused the majority of the Bears’ struggles to take care of the basketball.

“We tried to turn up the heat on them a little bit with the full-court pressure,” he said. “I thought that was key to the game and gave us the ability to pull away.”

One of the areas that Marshall really challenged his team on this week was rebounding the basketball. West Virginia was able to dominate the boards last week against WSU, but the Shockers responded well against UCA, outrebounding the Bears 35-30 while only allowing three offensive rebounds.

Senior Jaime Echenique said the team’s centers have taken it upon themselves to help correct the reboundings errors that were shown against WVU. With a solid week of practice, WSU was prepared to improve the performance on the boards and did exactly that. 

“Us as centers, we are responsible for all of the boards,” Echenique said. “We missed a couple of things against West Virginia, but I think we take our job seriously. We know what we did wrong and I think that we’re going to step up when it’s time. That’s why when we have a bad practice, I know that on the next day, everybody will come with great energy because everybody wants to develop.” 

Next up, the Shockers will hit the road for their first true road test against Oklahoma State on Sunday. Marshall said he knows the Cowboys will be a tough test for his team.

“I know that going to Stillwater and winning is difficult,” he said. “We did it last time we were down there. It was a great game and it took tremendous effort, heart, and toughness, and some big-time players making big-time plays. We’ll have to do the same. If we don’t, we’ll come back 7-2.”