The RoundHouse | 3/24/2019 10:07:00 PM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
CLEMSON, S.C.
 
Samajae Haynes-Jones knows why he makes those shots. He doesn't make every shot and in some games he doesn't make most of his shots. 
 
Somehow, he seems to make the ones that matter most. 
 
He makes them because he spent countless hours in Koch Arena, at Boston Park, at East High School, on the outdoor courts near the dorms at Hutchinson Community College and at the YMCA practicing those shots. You remember those shots: reverse layup to beat SMU, the running floater to beat UConn and the step-back three-pointer over a 6-foot-8 defender that sealed Sunday's 63-55 win at Clemson in the second round of the NIT.
 
"It's just being ready for everything," he said. "Having that confidence is going to make it happen. I work extremely hard on my jump shot. No matter if I make it or miss it, I shoot with confidence."
 
Haynes-Jones made Sunday's biggest shot with 30 seconds to play and when he faked a drive to give himself enough room to loft it over Clemson's David Skara, he gave the sixth-seeded Shockers a 61-55 lead. Haynes-Jones scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his second double-double this season.
 
His shooting percentages – 30.2 percent from three-point range, 36.2 percent overall – are not ideal for someone who takes the second-most shots on the team. Yet, he remains a good option for the Shockers, especially when the clock is ticking down and a creative, fearless maker of shots is required. That is Haynes-Jones and nobody else on the team does it as well.
 
 "Samajae is our clutch guy," center Jaime Echenique said. "Every time we need him, he is right there."
 
Wichita State turned its season around when its defense improved and it cut down on turnovers since the end of January.
 
On Sunday, the defense absolutely carried Wichita State into the NIT quarterfinals with a second consecutive tournament road game and a fifth overall. The sixth-seeded Shockers (21-14) held second-seeded Clemson (20-14) to 15-of-53 shooting, 2 of 14 from three-point range.
 
They needed that defense, because they committed 17 turnovers and crumbled in the final minutes against Clemson's press. Echenique (18 points) and Markis McDuffie (16 points) carried the scoring. 
 
The Shockers play at top-seeded Indiana on Tuesday (6 p.m., ESPN) in search of a seventh consecutive NIT win and wins over the top three seeds in their half of the bracket.
 
Still, that defense won the day.
 
"We played hard, we defended well," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. "Our defense was really good."
 
Wichita State freshman Dexter Dennis took on the game's most important defensive assignment for 38 minutes. He guarded senior Marcquise Reed, who averages 19.5 points and makes 36.9 percent of his threes. The absence of point guard Shelton Mitchell, who averages 11.5 points, put even more burden on Reed. Mitchell, out with a knee injury, started 32 games this season and averages 3.0 assists.
 
"I just wanted to force him into a heavily contested, mid-range shot," Dennis said. "He's really good at that. You just want to make it hard for him."
 
Marshall didn't want anyone else guarding Reed, so when he played, Dennis played.
 
"His length was tremendous," Marshall said. "He was dynamite with his positioning. His length bothered Reed. I love Reed. But tonight, because of Dexter's length . . . it was difficult for him."
 
Reed scored 18 points on 5-of-20 shooting. Dennis blocked three shots and altered others, rarely allowing Reed to get open mid-range shots. Reed missed all five of his three-pointers.
 
"We couldn't get shots to fall," Reed said. "They did well defensively, got up underneath us."
 
Embracing the NIT is important. The Shockers are happy to be in the NIT. It represents their improvement after a miserable January and most of the roster is new to NCAA Division I basketball, not spoiled by the NCAA Tournament and able to see this post-season as a stepping-stone to next season.
 
Did Clemson embrace the NIT? Unclear. The Tigers went to the Sweet 16 last season and expected to play in the NCAA's again. Instead, they went 9-9 in the ACC and went 4-5 entering the NIT. 
 
Wichita State's goal to get assistant coach Lou Gudino back to his home state of Indiana is complete. The big goal is to get McDuffie to Madison Square Garden, 18 miles from his home of Paterson, N.J.
 
"After what we've been through this year we knew this was a possibility and we knew by the end of the year we were going to be getting a lot better," McDuffie said. "We're motivated. With a group of young guys, they want to keep playing."
 
Shockers fans are definitely embracing the NIT. They showed up on Sunday from Florida, Atlanta and Alabama to cheer in Littlejohn Arena. Marshall's family and friends –including his parents and others from his home turf in South Carolina – returned after watching the Shockers win Wednesday at nearby Furman.
 
The Shockers notice.
 
"We're indebted to our Shocker fans," Marshall said. "We travel as well as anybody in the country, probably short of Big Blue Nation (Kentucky). It's just amazing to see yellow and black wherever we go."
 
The crowds at Koch Arena rarely wavered, which Marshall credited with helping sustain his team during the tough times. He knows fans at some schools likely jump ship during a 1-6 start to American Athletic Conference play.
 
"What they did this year when things weren't looking so bright for us was not turn on us, but really dig in and try to boost us up and help raise these young players and help instill confidence in these young players, instead of being negative," Marshall said. "We have the most loyal fans in the country."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.