Joiner sinks game-winning buzzer-beater as Tulsa storms back against No. 23 Shockers

Wichita+State+Head+Coach+Gregg+Marshall+reacts+to+a+foul+call+during+the+second+half+of+the+game+against+Central+Florida+on+Jan.+25+inside+Charles+Koch+Arena.

Marshall Sunner

Wichita State Head Coach Gregg Marshall reacts to a foul call during the second half of the game against Central Florida on Jan. 25 inside Charles Koch Arena.

A full 94 feet stood in-between Tulsa and another top-25 victory. Tulsa guard Elijah Joiner caught the ball at Wichita State’s free throw line with just over three seconds to go. Three. Joiner dribbled down the floor, drifting right. Two. He starts to rise up over Wichita State junior forward Trey Wade. One. Joiner gets the ball off. Buzzer.

Going into Saturday’s matchup against Tulsa, the No. 23 Shockers had won 12 of the last 13 meetings in the Havoc of the Heartland rivalry. Joiner made sure that streak would end, sinking WSU 54-51 at the buzzer. He finished with a game-high 22 points on 7-11 shooting, including going a perfect 5-5 in the second half with three three-pointers.

Not all was bleak for WSU late in the game. Going into halftime, the Shockers had a 29-23 lead. Then the wheels came off of the wagon. Tulsa continued to chip away at the lead behind the hands of Joiner, and their defense. The Golden Hurricane defense limited the Shockers to 9-29 shooting (31%) from the field and just 3-18 from three (16.7%). The Tulsa defenders were also able to keep WSU off of the foul line, limiting them to just 1-3 from the charity stripe.

In total, Wichita State attempted 31 three-pointers – they would only make six (19.4%). They shot 20-58 (34.5%) from the field.

WSU had their opportunities to capitalize late in the game, but were unable to. The Shockers had the ball with 27 seconds left, with the game-tied, when sophomore guard Erik Stevenson hoisted up a questionable three-pointer mid-shot clock. However, sophomore point guard Jamarius Burton was there to pick up the miss. After a timeout, Burton held the ball at the top of the key. With the clock running out, Burton was stripped in the paint, leading to a shot clock violation with 3.3 seconds remaining. That’s when Joiner hit his miracle buzzer-beater.

At the final buzzer, senior center Jaime Echenique led the way with 15 points and 10 rebounds on 7-12 shooting. No other Shocker would shoot over 50% from the field. Freshmen Tyson Etienne and Grant Sherfield had eight points each on 5-16 combined shooting. Stevenson continued his offensive struggles, scoring just six points on 3-11 shooting.

Sherfield also had four turnovers.

For the Golden Hurricane, Martins Igbanu scored 10 points to help back up Joiner’s efforts.

With the loss, the Shockers fall to 17-4 on the season with the loss and to fourth place in the American Athletic Conference regular season standings. They’ll also likely fall out of the Associated Top-25 on Monday. Tulsa (15-6, 7-1) is now in sole possession of first place.

The Shockers return to action on Thursday against Cincinnati (14-7) inside Charles Koch Arena. Tip is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be broadcasted on an ESPN network to be determined.