With less than six seconds left on the clock, Wichita State was able to hold on to a one-point lead with a block by Ronnie DeGray lll and Quincy Ballard against the Southern Illinois Salukis, 69-68, on Saturday night.
“I’m trying to get the ball … I looked at the clock and just walled up, got a handle on that, and (Ballard) cleaned it up, so I’ll say we both blocked at same time,” DeGray said.
A transfer from the University of Missouri, DeGray made his debut with the Shockers after sitting out the first 10 games of the season due to NCAA transfer rules. He did not know if was going to be able to until Friday evening.
“I was like, I might as well play, I think I can help the guys I win, I just want to play,” DeGray said.
Head men’s basketball coach Paul Mills said he is happy with DeGray’s defensive ability.
“I thought for the most part, he’s gonna be competitive,” Mills said. “He moves his feet very well for a guy his size and then you saw his ability to offensive rebound.”
Wichita State came out with momentum, scoring the first four points of the game with two shots from Ballard.
The Shockers’ offense would continue to dominate in the first 12 minutes of the game, 19-4. Southern Illinois would begin to chip the lead with a 7-0 run, 19-11.
Wichita State would be able to push the lead with 12 points with over four minutes left in the first half. The Salukis would be able to create some momentum to sit within five points on a 10-3 run, 30-25.
DeGray came off the bench to score his first basket for the Shockers on a layup with 21 seconds left in the half, which would send Wichita State into halftime with the lead, 34-27.
During the second half of the game, the game tightened up and saw the Salukis take a one-point lead with just under 13 minutes remaining.
The game was back and forth until redshirt junior Colby Rogers stepped up and made three triples to take the lead 63-59.
“Colby kind of carried us offensively there for about a four-minute stretch to really give us an advantage,” Mills said.
Rogers said that despite only scoring two points in the first half, he knew that he had his team to rely on.
“I wasn’t really worried that (I) only had two points,” Rogers said. “I’m just … taking it play by play.”
Both teams went on a scoring drought that lasted over two minutes. This drought was snapped with a Southern Illinois 3-pointer from Trent Brown, bringing the Salukis within just two points, 66-64.
The Shockers would be able to respond with a 3-pointer from junior Xavier Bell to increase the margin to 69-64.
Both Bell and Rogers would lead the Shockers with 20 points each.
Mills said that the team took accountability after its loss last week against South Dakota State while reviewing film.
“I knew when we came in here on Monday and went through that film, I knew I was looking at a team that was never going to let that happen again,” Mills said.
Up next, Wichita State will go on the road to face off against Kansas State University on Dec. 21 in Kansas City’s T-Mobile Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
