Graduate student forward Dalen Ridgal was the only senior celebrated in Charles Koch Arena for the Wichita State men’s basketball game against Rice. After a tight first half, the Shockers ran away in the second half for the win, 87-66.
Head coach Paul Mills said losing on senior night was not an option.
“I told the players there are some non-negotiables in regards to basketball, and one of them is you always win on senior night,” Mills said.
The Shockers improved to 5-12 in the American Athletic Conference and 13-17 overall. The Owls dropped to 5-11 in conference play and 11-18 overall.
In a repeat of last Wednesday’s game against the University of Alabama-Birmingham, Wichita State created a large lead, but unlike last game, the Shockers were able to hold on for the win.
Rice put three on the board to start the game, and Wichita State responded with two 3-pointers from redshirt junior guard Colby Rogers and Ridgnal in the opening two minutes.
After a lot of back and forth, Wichita State turned the ball over three straight times to tie it at 24 halfway through the first half.
With seven seconds left in the first half and the game tied at 39, Rogers made a 3-pointer to send the Shockers into halftime leading, 42-39. No team led by more than five points during the first period.
At the start of the second half, Wichita State made a 15-6 run to grab its largest lead, 57-45. In the run, junior guard Harlond Beverly scored eight points and Rogers added five. A layup from Ridgnal forced a Rice timeout.
Beverly said the run was possible because the shots were open and ready to take.
“Our shots were very open because we were willing to pass the ball; we did a good job of knocking down shots that (were) open,” Beverly said.
Rice called another timeout after the lead jumped to 15 on a junior forward Kenny Pohto layup, 65-50, with just under 10 minutes left in the second half.
The Shockers’ offense managed to create a 21-point lead off a Beverly 3-pointer. Rice would not respond until a 3-pointer from Rice’s Travis Evee but would fall short.
Wichita State created an 8-0 run with a 3-pointer and two free throws from Beverly and three from Rogers to further the lead, 77-53.
Beverly received a pass off a rebound and completed a perfectly executed 2-on-1 fast break with Ronnie DeGray III, who finished the layup with a foul to make it 84-58 with less than five minutes left. By that time, Rice could not recover.
In the final minute of the game, freshman guard Joy Ighovodja passed the ball to redshirt freshman guard Trevor McBride to make an open three-pointer that made the home crowd go wild.
Wichita State finished the game with a season-high 14 made 3-point shots, with 63.6% accuracy, also a season-best.
Rogers led the Shockers with 25 points and went 7 of 9 from beyond the arc. Beverly followed suit, adding 23 points and went 3/3 at the 3-point line. On his senior night, Ridgnal scored 11 points and went 3/3 in 3-pointers in the first half.
Mills said growth happens behind closed doors, not in front of the crowd.
“I think these guys have kind of embraced and understood the things that need to get done in order (to) allow that to happen,” Mills said. “These guys have played the part of ‘How do we get better,’ (during) this entire process.”
Up next, Wichita State will play its final game of the regular season, traveling to New Orleans to face off against Tulane on Friday, March 8. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.
