Wichita State men’s basketball traveled to a warmer state over the weekend in Florida to play against the University of South Florida. The Bulls overwhelmed the Shockers during the second half and Wichita State lost, 72-68.
During the first quarter, redshirt junior forward Colby Rogers and redshirt junior guard Harlond Beverly gave Wichita State an 8-0 lead with an alley-oop, which was the largest lead for the Shockers in the game with 4:18 left on the clock.
South Florida scored five points on a couple of free throws and a transition 3-pointer minimized the gap between the scores.
Two minutes before halftime, Wichita State was in the lead 33-32, but the Bulls moved close behind with free throws from junior forward Kasean Pryor.
Beverly finished the half with a turnover and layup, raising the score to 35-32. Beverly and junior guard Xavier Bell combined for 20 of the Shockers’ first-half points.
The Shockers have been haunted by turnovers, and it continued against South Florida. They totaled 14 and over half of them were in the second half.
The score was 41-37 in Wichita State’s favor for the first three minutes but was quickly interrupted with the Bulls scoring seven points from several Wichita State turnovers. South Florida stole the lead, 44-41, and the Shockers gathered for a timeout.
The Bulls then used their advantage to take their largest lead of the game, 49-41. They outscored the Shockers 17-6 in the first eight minutes of the second half.
The Shockers were able to cut the deficit to 64-61 off of shots from Pohto and junior forward Ronnie DeGray III.
With 4:20 left in the game, the Bulls made two free throws, which put the Shockers further behind. Bell successfully hit a triple to catch Wichita State up, 66-64.
In the last remaining minutes, Bulls senior guard Chris Youngblood made two regular free throws at the 2:30 mark.
Bell worked hard to use the 40 remaining seconds and was able to cut the deficit to one possession, making two jump shots. Pryor then hit a shot with 17 seconds remaining. Beverly scored a layup with seconds left.
Wichita State responded by sending Pryor to the line with only 3.2 remaining. Pryor makes both of these free throws, capping the scores.
Beverly scored a team-high 15 points for Wichita State and added six rebounds. Bell earned 14 points and eight rebounds. Pohto added 12 and Rogers capped with 11 more.
The Shockers play next on Wednesday, Jan. 24 when they host the East Carolina Pirates at 6:30 p.m. in Charles Koch Arena.
