Box Score
Wichita State will celebrate the 2011 NIT Championship at approximately 5 p.m. Friday inside Charles Koch Arena. The event is open to the public. Fans will not be able to greet the team at the airport, as the team will arrive by charter flight and bus directly to the NIT Championship celebration.
NEW YORK, N.Y. - The
Wichita State Shockers claimed their first National Invitation Tournament
Championship with a 66-57 win against Alabama Thursday at Madison Square
Garden.
The Shockers claimed
their school record 29th men's basketball win of the season led by
12 points each from seniors Graham Hatch and J.T. Durley. Hatch's two
3-pointers in the closing minutes pushed the Shockers' lead to double digits.
Hatch was named the NIT
Most Outstanding Player and Hatch and Garrett Stutz made the All-Tournament
Team for the Shockers.
Wichita State shot 50
percent overall (23-for-46) and outrebounded Alabama, 35-27, in front of a crowd of 4,873.
Tony Mitchell led Alabama
with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. The Crimson Tide finished the
season with a 25-12 record.
The Shockers (29-8)
grabbed their first lead of the game, 6-4, on a Gabe Blair layup at the 16:47
mark of the first half.
Wichita State led, 8-6,
before an Alabama 3-pointer from Charvez Davis and jumper from JaMychel Green
pushed the Crimson Tide ahead, 11-8.
Alabama built up a five-point
lead midway through the half before the Shockers closed the gap. A Ben Smith
rebound and put-back cut Alabama's lead to one point with just over 12 minutes
remaining before halftime.
The Crimson Tide regained
a five-point edge before a 6-0 Shocker run put Wichita State ahead, 18-17. Two
Aaron Ellis jumpers and two made Demetric Williams free throws stemming from an
intentional foul called on Alabama's Tony Mitchell came during the run.
An 8-0 run gave the
Shockers a 33-25 lead - their largest of the half - with less than five minutes
remaining before halftime. A three-point play from Toure' Murry kicked off the
run, followed by a Durley jumper and 3-pointer.
A Stutz jumper put the
Shockers ahead once again by seven points late in the half.
Alabama cut the lead to
one point before two Stutz free throws gave the Shockers a 37-34 edge at
halftime.
Both teams shot 50
percent in the first half and finished the half shooting 100 percent from the
free-throw line. Durley led Wichita State with 11 first-half points. Green paced
the Crimson Tide with 10 points. The Shockers outrebounded Alabama, 16-10, in
the half and the Shockers committed 10 turnovers to Alabama's eight.
Alabama regained the
lead, 41-40, on a free throw from Chris Hines about five minutes into the
second half, but a three-point play from Joe Ragland regained a two-point
Shocker lead.
A 3-pointer from Kyles,
followed by an Ellis jumper, put the Shockers ahead, 48-43, midway through the
half. That lead grew to eight points with a free throw from Stutz and layup
from Williams that capped off an 8-0 Wichita State run.
The Shockers' lead grew
to 11 points on back-to-back 3-pointers from Graham Hatch late in the game.
Wichita State advanced to the NIT Championship with four-straight wins in the
tournament - beating Nebraska in the first round of the NIT, Virginia Tech in the
second round and the College of Charleston in the quarterfinals before adding
Tuesday's 75-44 semifinal win against Washington State, also at Madison Square
Garden.
- Wichita State -