Wichita State Athletics
WICHITA, Kan. – Despite 20 turnovers Wichita State was able to make enough plays down the stretch to record its third straight victory in a 69-64 battle with UTSA Wednesday night in Charles Koch Arena.
Wichita State (14-10, 4-7) has now won back-to-back games against conference opponents that they had previously lost to earlier this season. Its also the first three-game conference winning streak since March of 2021.
Corey Washington registered his sixth double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Harlond Beverly did a little bit of everything, finishing with 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Xavier Bell added 12 points, six rebounds and three assists on an off shooting night.
Quincy Ballard, on a minutes restriction after battling the flu the last few days, made a couple huge plays down the stretch, including a block and a key free throw. In limited minutes he added five points, six boards and two blocks.
AJ McGinnis knocked down three big three-pointers in 20 minutes off the bench.
For the second straight game Wichita State dominated the glass. The Shockers were +20 on the boards at South Florida and were +21 tonight vs. UTSA. Wichita State's 50 total rebounds were a season high.
Wichita State was efficient beyond the arc (7-for-15) and got to the free throw line 23 times, making 16. UTSA made 15 three-pointers in the first meeting in San Antonio, but finished just 6-of-24. At the line, they finished just 4-of-8.
The first half wasn't exactly easy on the eyes when it came to offense. Both teams shot below the 40 percent mark and combined for 15 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. Wichita State fell in an early hole, trailing by seven, but a 10-0 run capped by a Harlond Beverly steal and slam gave the Shockers a 19-15 lead with 5:05 left in the half.
Just as soon as Wichita State had seized momentum, UTSA immediately responded with a 7-0 run to retake a 22-19 lead.
After the lead traded hands twice more in the final minute, AJ McGinnis sent the Shockers into the locker room with a 28-27 lead on a banked in three-pointer.
Washington's 11 first half points led all scorers.
The start of the second half followed the final minutes of the first half. Wichita State scored the first nine points of the half to take its largest lead, 36-27, behind a Washington layup, Bijan Cortes three-pointer and four points from Quincy Ballard.
In the span of 2:21, UTSA had already erased that nine-point deficit behind an 11-0 run of its own to jump back in front, 38-37. That run would balloon to a 20-2 run, snapped only briefly by a Cortes layup.
Trailing 47-39, Wichita State came right back with a 7-0 response to make it a one-point game again.
A minute later the game was tied at 50, but over the final 8:02, Wichita State would not trail again. The game continued to stay within a five-point margin until a Bell three-pointer put the Shockers up 64-57 with 3:22 to go.
UTSA made another push to cut the lead to two with 1:59 remaining, but they would not score again. Wichita State held the Roadrunners scoreless over the final 1:59 and got key free throws from Ballard and Bell to pull out the win.
Up Next for the Shockers: The rematch between Wichita State and No. 14/14 Memphis comes to the Roundhouse Sunday at 11 a.m. on ESPN.