On Sunday evening, most of Wichita State men’s basketball’s players and coaching staff believed their season was over. Two days — and a surprise National Invitation Tournament bid — later, it actually was.

The Shockers went one-and-done in the NIT, losing to Oklahoma State University on Tuesday night, 89-79. The game was played on OSU’s home court in Stillwater.

After the game, WSU head coach Paul Mills was grateful for the opportunity to watch the team play more basketball this season.

“This group has been phenomenal,” Mills said. “Just who they are, the character, and just really proud of the locker room in regards to the people that they are and that they actually became over the course of the year.”

Wichita State ended its season with a 19-15 record, a four-game improvement over last year. The Cowboys will move on to face either Southern Methodist University or the University of Northern Iowa in the tournament’s second round over the weekend.

The Shockers’ first unit remained competitive with OSU throughout the course of the game, but the second unit was torched whenever it came onto the floor.

Wichita State’s starters all had plus/minus better than minus-two, with senior guard Bijan Cortes and junior forward Corey Washington finishing at plus-13 and plus-12, respectively. 

Cortes, who hails from Kingfisher, Oklahoma, just an hour outside of Stillwater, shot just 1-12 from the field, but Mills praised his overall contribution to the game.

“I just thought his contributions were good,” Mills said. “I thought he was committed to trying to make the next play, even though it wasn’t necessarily falling for him offensively.”

All of the Shockers’ bench players had a worse than minus-nine plus/minus. Fifth-year guard Justin Hill and senior guard Harlond Beverly ended at minus-23 and minus-29, respectively.

Beverly was the Shockers’ only bench player to score a bucket as he finished 3-6 from the floor.

For the second consecutive game, a shifty guard torched the Shockers’ offense. A game after Memphis sophomore PJ Haggerty dropped an AAC Championship record 42 points on WSU, Oklahoma State graduate student guard Bryce Thompson, an All-Big 12 honorable mention, put up 23.

“I was able just to get to my spot and raise up, and my teammates did a great job of screening for me,” Thompson said.

Mills has known Thompson since he was a ninth grader. The WSU coach praised Thompson for his ability to beat the Shockers at the midrange.

“He played well, he was kind of a catalyst, and got them going (with) 19 and a half,” Mills said. “… It’s a tip of the hat to Bryce, because one, he’s a tremendous, tremendous young man, but he’s obviously a really good player.”

Much of Stillwater was impacted by wildfires earlier in the week, including OSU head coach Steve Lutz, who had to evacuate his home. The school used the tournament game as a fundraiser for wildfire relief.

“From what I’ve been told, we were able to raise a decent amount of money for the people of Stillwater that are in need, and we were able to also bring in a lot of goods that will help them get back on their feet,” Lutz said.

Wichita State came out strong to open the game, leading 9-6 at the first break as the Shocker faithful, filling the west end of Gallagher-Iba Arena, rose to their feet during the timeout.

Seven minutes into the first half, Mills substituted Ballard and Cortes out of the game. Wichita State’s second unit struggled to guard the Cowboys or create any offense, as OSU went on a 12-2 run with the WSU bench on the floor to lead, 25-18.

Thompson scored 15 of the Cowboys’ first 25 points.

Wichita State’s bench was blanked in the first half, with each member of the second unit having a minus-10 or worse plus/minus.

Another 6-0 OSU run later and the Cowboys opened up their biggest lead of the half, 37-22. The Shockers finally found a little breathing room on offense and went on a 7-0 of their own to cut the deficit back to single digits, 37-29. 

The Shockers went into the break holding OSU scoreless for the final two minutes of the first half and trailing, 40-35.

Coming out of the half, the Shockers took control of the game, going on a 7-0 run to take the lead, 42-40 — their first lead since the 13 minute mark of the first half.

Later on, OSU rallied for a 7-0 run on the other end, ending with a strip of Hill and a 3-pointer in transition to make the score 59-52. 

OSU’s sophomore guard Connor Dow capped off another Cowboys scoring run with a tip-in layup and subsequent free throw as WSU trailed by 13 points, 67-54.

Wichita State rallied a few times, but OSU always responded when its lead was cut to seven or eight points. 

With 4:22 remaining, senior forward Ronnie DeGray III knocked down a 3-pointer to make the score 79-71 Oklahoma State. On the next possession, the Cowboys pulled in three offensive rebounds, ending the trip down the floor with a foul and two free throws.

The Cowboys pulled down 10 offensive boards in the second half, nullifying any momentum the Shockers could generate. OSU scored 16 points off the offensive rebounds in the half.

The Cowboys ran out the clock for the final minute and a half as WSU was run out of Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Senior guard Xavier Bell said the season and appearance in the NIT sets the Wichita State program up for success in the future.

“At the end of the day, we showed our foundation as a team and what, you know, we want to be, and that’s rebounding and defending,” Bell said. “Just to tip our hat on that and really just buy in on that early and try and just build on that.”

Wichita State’s season ended on Tuesday, but with the transfer portal opening and the roster spots of eight seniors to fill, Mills has work to do.

“My friends call me ‘Portal Paul,’” Mills said. “So that’s what I’ll do.”