Wichita State men’s basketball’s American Athletic Conference (AAC) opener featured 17 lead changes — but in the end, Temple University ran away with the win, 91-85.
WSU experienced deja vu in its third consecutive loss to the Owls. The Shockers struggled with free-throw shooting and couldn’t close the game in the second half, problems that cost the team wins in the AAC last year as well.
The Shockers dropped to 10-4 on the season. Temple improved to 9-5 overall.
On the postgame radio show, Wichita State head coach Paul Mills pinned the loss on poor defense and free throw shooting.
“85 points is enough to win a basketball game,” Mills said. “We’ve got to do a better job of making sure our coverages are right … and then you do need to convert free-throw opportunities.”
Wichita State shot 16-28 — 57% from the free-throw line. The Shockers have won each of their games in which they shot better than 64% from the line and lost every game under that mark.
Wichita State did improve in the rebounding category, setting a new season-high with 15 offensive boards. WSU pulled down more offensive boards than its opponent for just the second time in the last nine games.
Mills appears to have found his starting five for conference play — the same lineup he used in the win against Kansas State on Dec. 21. Seniors Justin Hill, Xavier Bell and AJ McGinnis started at guard and junior forward Corey Washington and senior center Quincy Ballard rounded out the front court.
Washington found himself in foul trouble early in the game, playing only 15 minutes. When he was on the court, he made an impact with 13 points and five rebounds, but fouled out with 5:27 remaining.
The game was back-and-forth for most of the affair, but Temple ran away late in the second half in part due to knocking down five of its nine shots from beyond the arc in the period.
WSU came out with a hot start to the game, leading 11-2 four minutes in. Temple quickly recovered to take the lead back 90 seconds later after a 10-0 run.
The teams traded the lead seven more times in the first half, with the Shockers going into the break on a 6-0 run and ahead, 39-37.
Temple took the lead again on a 3-pointer less than two minutes into the second period, maintaining the advantage for the next five minutes despite never going ahead by more than four points.
Senior guard Bijan Cortes knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Shockers the lead again, 57-56, with 12:35 left. A minute later, Cortes dished out an alley-oop to Ballard, who threw down a highlight tomahawk dunk with one hand.
On the next possession, Hill knocked down a 3-pointer in transition to up the WSU lead to four, 62-58, and force a Temple timeout.
Coming out of the break, the teams combined to turn the ball over four times over the next three minutes, playing sloppy, high-paced basketball. With seven minutes to go, Temple re-took the lead, 68-66, following a 6-0 run.
After trading threes, Temple senior Steve Settle III blocked a WSU shot and knocked down a 3-pointer in transition to go up, 74-69.
A WSU timeout and turnover later, Washington fouled out. From there, Temple looked to run away with the win, going up by 12 points with 2:30 remaining. However, the Shockers continued to battle, going on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 83-78.
WSU had possession while down six points with one minute left, but McGinnis missed a 3-point attempt and Hill missed a second-chance layup to put the nail in the coffin.
In his return to the lineup, Hill led the team and all scorers with 25 points, his most since the opening game of the year in November.
Ballard tallied his third consecutive double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Bell also continued an offensive hot streak by scoring 18 points, his sixth consecutive in double-figures.
Most of WSU’s free throw woes can be pinned on Ballard, senior guard Harlond Beverly and senior center Matej Bošnjak, who combined to go 2-11 from the line.
McGinnis was blanked from the score sheet for the sixth time this year. The usually sure 3-point shooter missed all three of his attempts from deep.
Last year, Wichita State began AAC play by losing its first six games. The Shockers will attempt to avoid a similar malaise when they play the University of South Florida at the Roundhouse on Monday, Jan. 6.
Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
