The RoundHouse | 12/22/2020 10:11:00 PM

 
 
The TV cameras showed Tyson Etienne with hands raised in triumph, interim coach Isaac Brown smiling through his black mask and happy bunch of Shockers walking off the court.
 
The Shockers should feel happy with an 82-77 overtime win at USF on Tuesday. Not as happy as they would have been with a regulation win. But happy. Any kind of road happy is pretty good.
 
They survived fouling shooters twice in the final five seconds of regulation to give the Bulls six points and a 70-all tie. Wichita State led 69-64 with 17 seconds to play before those mistakes by Tyson Etienne and Alterique Gilbert saved the Bulls.
 
Having created that adversity, the Shockers (4-2, 2-0 American Athletic Conference) immediately went about learning from the situation. The huddle stayed upbeat after regulation. Coaches told them to win the next five minutes and forget the final seconds of regulation. 
 
Craig Porter Jr., said working through the upheaval of the past months helped. The Shockers are used to leaning on teammates for support through the pandemic and coaching change. 
 
"We've been coaches for each other," he said. "We all just kept everybody positive."
 
The Shockers knew their guards would be their strength and Etienne and Gilbert carried much of the load during the second-half rally. They ran the team that limited turnovers to four in the game's final 25 minutes. Etienne scored 16 points in the second half, five in overtime and 25 for the game. Gilbert scored 10, eight in the second half.
 
"We continued to play basketball," Etienne said. "We kept our heads."
 
A steal by Gilbert and his pass to Etienne for a three-pointer started the rally. Gilbert made two baskets to give the Shockers a 59-53 lead. Their ability to break down the defense and make passes or shots flipped the game in the final minutes.
 
Wichita State's backcourt looks even strong after overtime because of Porter's contributions. He played the entire overtime and scored five of his seven points in that session, erring only on one hurried shot on a break.
 
The Shockers trailed by 13 in the first half. They changed the momentum by forcing turnovers that led to easy baskets. A zone defense turned the Bulls (5-3, 1-1) into jump-shooters and that is not their game.
 
With Etienne, Gilbert and Porter, Brown likes his team's ability to spread the court and drive the basketball.
 
"When (Porter) is on the court, it's like having three point guards," Brown said.
 
Wichita State is 2-0 with two road wins in the AAC. That is a better start than most outside of Wichita would have predicted. Learning lessons in a win can create a confident team and Brown will use those painful final five seconds when the Shockers gather next for video review.
 
"We can learn from this," he said. "The game is never over. You can't celebrate."
 
The Shockers can enjoy the road wins and a three-game win streak over Christmas. Etienne didn't sound surprised or satisfied.
 
"I remain confident in my guys," he said. "It's motivating and encouraging to get that, but we know we're just getting started."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.