It looked for a while like Wichita State men’s basketball fans would have little to be thankful for on Thanksgiving, but clutch baskets by senior guard Harlond Beverly and fifth-year guard Justin Hill helped the Shockers come away with the win on Turkey Day.
After not winning an overtime game last year, Wichita State was able to fend off the University of Minnesota in overtime on Thursday, 68-66. The Shockers won their first overtime game since February 2023.
With the win, WSU maintained its perfect start to the season at 6-0 while Minnesota dropped to 5-2. The Shockers will play for the championship of the ESPN Events Invitational on Friday.
Minnesota was cold from 3-point range, as the Golden Gophers shot just 3-23 from beyond the arc and additionally shot only 53% from the free throw line. The teams both forced 12 turnovers, but Minnesota turned those giveaways into 18 points while WSU could only score eight points off turnovers.
The teams traded points and leads to start the game. Going into the media timeout with four minutes left in the first half, Minnesota was on a 7-0 run and led, 22-19, as WSU was held scoreless for more than two minutes. Beverly ended the run with an alley-oop dunk.
Hill scored his first points on a 3-pointer to tie the game at 24.
The Shockers led the Golden Gophers, 25-24, at the half. No team was able to pull away with the biggest lead of the half for either team only being 4 points. WSU was able to force nine turnovers and only turned the ball over twice.
Like in the first half, both teams traded baskets in the second half as neither could pull away. With 5:01 left and Minnesota leading 50-49, junior forward Corey Washington fouled out. A 3-pointer by Minnesota gave the Gophers a two-possession lead for the first time in the second half.
With 27 seconds left and trailing 3 points, the Shockers forced a shot clock violation and got the ball back. With 10 seconds left, Beverly made a layup to cut the defect to 1 point.
The Golden Gophers were fouled with ten seconds remaining and made both of their free throws, opening the lead to 3 points again. Beverly, with ice in his veins, hit the game-tying 3-pointer to send the game to overtime, yelling in celebration all the way up the other side of the court.
In overtime, free throws by senior center Quincy Ballard gave WSU the lead. A senior guard Bijan Cortes layup with three minutes left gave the Shockers their biggest lead of the game, 62-57. With 20 seconds left and up by 4 points, Senior guard Xavier Bell turned the ball over, which led to a Minnesota layup.
Minnesota forced another turnover, leading to a tying dunk. With four seconds left, fifth-year guard Justin Hill was fouled and made both free throws. The Golden Gophers’ final three would bounce around the rim but didn’t fall, giving WSU the win and allowing fans to finally let out a sigh of relief.
Beverly led the team in points (16), Washington and Ballard led the team in rebounds (seven) and Cortes led in assists (three)
The Shockers will play the winner of the #18 Florida and Wake Forest game on Friday. Tipoff for the championship game is scheduled for 2:30 in Lake Buena Vista, FL.
