The RoundHouse | 11/6/2018 11:04:00 PM

 
Wichita State short-circuited its good moments with a series of missed foul shots, mistakes, turnovers and poor rebounding. It was expected, because the Shockers are such a young team, and totally unexpected because those are issues other teams usually suffer.
 
Especially in Koch Arena. 
 
"Toughness," Shocker freshman Dexter Dennis said.
 
"Toughness," teammate Erik Stevenson repeated. "Toughness. That's what this program has been successful with. Execution on offense and toughness on defense. We're still trying to find that."
 
The freshmen get it. Wichita State went 11 of 26 from the foul line. Louisiana Tech out-rebounded the Shockers 37-26 and grabbed 10 offensive rebounds. Louisiana Tech outscored Wichita State by 16 points at the line. While the Shockers forced 18 turnovers, they committed 15 to negate much of that edge.
 
"We're going to have to get better," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. "We were smashed on the glass. Minus-(11) at home. Didn't make free throws."
 
Some of the mistakes didn't show as clearly on the stat sheet. Rushed shots. Poor decisions on fast breaks. Missed box-outs and hesitation chasing loose balls.
 
The Shockers led 15-13 when Louisiana Tech's Christon Exavian got open on a fast break for a three-pointer and a 16-15 lead. Samajae Haynes-Jones and Dexter Dennis missed the front end of one-and-one foul shots. Asbjorn Midtgaard missed two shots near the basket. Another fast-break basket gave the Bulldogs a 20-15 lead and they never trailed again.
 
"They got out in transition," Marshall said. "We went from up three or four to down five or six."
 
The Shockers played like a team leaning on newcomers – nine of its 12 debuted in NCAA Division I action on Tuesday. Louisiana Tech played like an experienced team, helped by a summer exhibition tour, that pointed to this game as a chance to make a statement. Its full-court pressure disrupted Wichita State's offense by eating into the shot clock. Even when it didn't force a turnover, it sped up the Shockers.
 
"This is a huge win for us," Louisiana Tech coach Eric Konkol said. "We talked about it all summer long."
 
Stevenson led the Shockers with 16 points, making 4 of 6 three-pointers. He made back-to-back threes in the second half to give Wichita State a brief hope. He played with more confidence than in the exhibition game and gave the Shockers needed scoring and hustle.
 
"I've got to help the team," he said. "We've got a couple guys that can go score, they get to the paint and make plays. I figured I needed to be one of those guys, too. Make us tougher to guard."
 
Junior center Jamie Echenique fouled out after a solid effort – eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
 
The Shockers got little production from seniors Markis McDuffie and Haynes-Jones. McDuffie finished with eight points on 3-of-11 shooting. Haynes-Jones scored seven points on 2-of-13 shooting.
 
Unlike in years past, there is not a line of experienced teammates ready to step up. The Shockers need consistent play from both. Junior Ricky Torres, a transfer, missed his one shot.
 
"I don't think any of the three juniors and seniors . . . played like we need them to play as upperclassmen and leaders," Marshall said. "We're going to have to figure that out."
 
McDuffie, as he did in the first half of the exhibition game, forced several shots.
 
"He's just going to have to slow down," Marshall said. "We're still going to ride him. He's just got to be more efficient. We've sent several guys to the NBA and none of them scored 25 a game. None of them even scored 20. We're sending guys to the NBA because they're efficient. They're shooting a high percentage. They make winning plays. They knock down free throws."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.