Men's Basketball | 3/15/2019 11:39:00 PM

 
In early January, it was Wichita State that fell apart and blew a lead in an overtime loss to Temple at Koch Arena. On Friday, the Shockers reversed that with a tough-minded second half to grab an 80-74 win over Temple in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
 
The sixth-seeded Shockers (19-13) play second-seeded Cincinnati at 4 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2), needing two more wins in Memphis to secure the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Friday's win over the Owls is Wichita State's sixth in a row and helps its National Invitation Tournament chances.
 
Wichita State's seniors got plenty of help against Temple (23-9), to be sure. Markis McDuffie and Samajae Haynes-Jones, however, provided the Shockers with the scoring and the toughness needed. McDuffie broke out of a shooting slump with a career-high 34 points and 12 rebounds. Haynes-Jones played a leading role in making Temple guard Shizz Alston Jr. a non-factor in the second half and frustrating him into earning a technical foul.
 
"Markis McDuffie was playing like a man possessed," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said.
 
McDuffie made 4 of 9 three-pointers and 11 of 12 foul shots, making him 22 for 24 from the line in two tournament games. Haynes-Jones helped hold Alston to two second-half points. He scored eight points, two on a crucial drive with 1:16 to play that extended the lead to 75-71. 
 
In the second half, the Shockers worked to keep the ball away from Alston with considerable success.
 
"Samajae Haynes-Jones did a wonderful job, and everything was based on forcing him to his left hand," Marshall said. "He's elite going to his right."
 
Wichita State's defense made the Owls a one-dimensional isolation team for much of the second with a stifling perimeter defense. The Shockers didn't need to worry much about Temple's post scorers, so they pressed out on the guards to disrupt the offense and swarmed them if they dribbled into the lane.
 
The Owls dribbled away the shot clock on many possessions before forcing difficult shots or committing turnovers.
 
The frustration showed when Alston Jr. threw up a wild shot and then barked at a referee to earn a technical foul with 4:58 to play. Two foul shots by McDuffie gave the Shockers a 69-61 lead. 
 
The Owls cut the lead to 73-71, but the Shockers refused to fade. A dunk by Dexter Dennis, off a long pass from Erik Stevenson on an inbound play, gave Wichita state a 79-73 lead with 32 seconds to play.
 
"What ran through my mind is 'We can't give this one away, too,'" Dennis said. "This game, we kept our poise."
 
Dennis did his part with 19 points, matching his season high, and 12 rebounds.
 
The Shockers knew they had improved dramatically since that 85-81 loss on Jan. 6. Friday's win proved it, starting with enough of a reduction in turnovers to make a difference. Wichita State committed 15 on Friday, down six from the January loss.
 
Temple's offense depends on creating turnovers and Wichita State kept that number manageable.
 
The Shockers grabbed 16 offensive rebounds to score 17 second-chance points. Their size advantage also helped them outscore the Owls 34-24 in the lane.
 
Saturday's task gets tougher against the Bearcats (26-6), who swept the regular-season series with 66-55 and 72-62 wins.
 
The 72-62 loss at Cincinnati on Feb. 17 represents one of Wichita State's worst offensive game of the season. The Shockers shot a season-low 27.8 percent on two-point shots and missed 26 of 35 three-pointers. 
 
In the loss at Koch Arena, the Shockers faced a 20-point deficit at the foul line. They also gave up 13 offensive rebounds.
 
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.