Wichita State Athletics
KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Wichita State and Minnesota needed every bit of the 45 minutes played on Thanksgiving to decide a winner in the opening game of the ESPN Events Invitational, as the Shockers came out on top in overtime, 68-66.
Wichita State (6-0) will play the winner of Florida and Wake Forest tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.
The Shockers are 6-0 for the first time since 2019 and 13th in program history.
Trailing by three in the final seconds of regulation, Harlond Beverly received a pass on the left wing, took one dribble to his left and cashed in a game-tying three-pointer with 1.2 seconds left.
Beverly led all scorers with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Corey Washington added 13 points and seven rebounds before fouling out with 5:01 left in regulation. Washington was tasked with defending Minnesota's Dawson Garcia, who came into the game averaging better than 22.0 points per game. Washington and the Shocker defense held Garcia to just four points on 1-of-7 shooting.
Justin Hill and Xavier Bell both added 11 points.
Wichita State seized the early momentum to begin overtime behind Quincy Ballard going 3-for-4 at the free throw line. After another stop on the defensive end, Wichita State made it 62-57 on a Bijan Cortes layup.
The two teams traded baskets to then make it 64-59 and 2:21 remaining in overtime. Xavier Bell gave the Shockers a 66-62 lead a minute later, but the Gophers were not about to go down quietly. A steal and score cut it to two with 19 seconds left, leading to a Wichita State timeout. Out of the timeout, Wichita State immediately turned the ball over in the backcourt and an uncontested layup tied the game at 66 with 15 seconds to go.
Justin Hill dribbled the length of the floor and got past his defender, forcing a foul with just 4 seconds left. Hill would convert both free throws to go back up by two. One last chance for Minnesota saw Brennan Rigsby get a double-pump three-pointer off just underneath the outstretched arms of Ballard. The ball hit every part of the rim before falling off, allowing all of Shocker Nation to exhale.
Wichita State held Minnesota to 3-of-23 shooting from beyond the arc. The Gophers were able to grab 13 offensive rebounds and outrebounded the Shockers by four. Both teams finished with 12 turnovers, but Minnesota outscored Wichita State 18-8 in points off turnovers.
The Shockers took a one-point lead into halftime behind a low-scoring first half, 25-24. Neither team led by more than five during the entire game, while also featuring 10 ties and 10 lead changes.
Minnesota grabbed its first lead of the second half with 9:02 to go and would not trail again until overtime.
With 2:34 left in regulation, Minnesota grabbed its largest lead, 55-50. A Bell score cut it to 55-52 and then Beverly made it a one-point game with 12 seconds remaining. Following a Wichita State timeout, the Shockers immediately fouled Isaac Asuma. Asuma calmly knocked down both free throws to give the Gophers a 57-54 lead, setting the scene for Beverly's heroics.
Wichita State improved to 2-5 all time at the ESPN Events Invitational with the win.