The RoundHouse | 2/27/2020 10:35:00 PM
Temple's Quinton Rose had the ball and a runway to a go-ahead layup with 50 seconds to play.
Wichita State's
Dexter Dennis got in the way and saved a crucial game for the Shockers.
"I didn't even see what happened," Dennis said. "I thought he made it."
Nope, Rose missed it and the Owls remained down by a point.
Dennis hustled to contest the shot, watching Rose drive to the basket after grabbing a defensive rebound. Rose missed.
Erik Stevenson rebounded. Dennis' defense denied the Owls their best opportunity to take the lead in the final minute and the Shockers won 72-69 on Thursday at Koch Arena.
"I really just wanted to contest it as best as I could, without fouling," Dennis said. "It worked out in my favor. I really just jumped by and put my hands up."
The Shockers (21-7, 9-6 American Athletic Conference) couldn't afford to lose to Temple (14-14, 6-9). A home loss to the Owls would have bumped the Shockers out of every NCAA Tournament projection and saddled them with a bad loss.
Dennis' hustle helped keep the Shockers in the picture.
"I had to put on the gas," he said. "I just did not want to give up a basket."
After the miss, the Shockers continued their finishing kick up 67-66.
Jamarius Burton scored with four seconds on the shot clock to give them a 69-66 lead with 23 seconds to play. He made two more foul shots with three seconds to play and
Jaime Echenique added another.
Wichita State trailed 65-58 with 4:25 remaining. Typical game with Temple. Big swings. Comebacks.
The Shockers outscored the Owls 14-4 the rest of the way, making 4 of 5 shots and 5 of 6 free throws. The turnovers which disrupted their game most of the night disappeared.
"It was character time," Wichita State coach
Gregg Marshall said. "We made the plays we had to. Dig deep, man."
The Shockers scored on eight of their final nine possessions. The exception was a Burton miss that turned into Dennis' defensive play on Rose.
Burton scored eight of those points.
Trey Wade, who finished with a season-high 21 points, made a three to get the rally started. Freshman guard
Tyson Etienne scored over defenders on a drive to the basket to cut the lead to 65-63.
"We were confident in one another," Burton said. "Down the stretch, we made plays. It was a now-or-never-type moment. We knew we had to make plays, or we were going to take another loss on our home floor."
Wade, a junior forward, fell out of the starting lineup earlier this month and his minutes declined. His energy and shooting returned and he played 23 minutes at Cincinnati. That got him back in the starting lineup on Thursday.
"I liked his energy the last couple games," Marshall said. "Trey deserved it tonight and he certainly delivered."
Wade made all seven of his shots and scored 18 points in the first half. He took advantage of Temple's defense, which sagged off him at times or left him open to double Echenique.
"I knew they were going to play off me," Wade said. "I was ready for my shot. I worked so hard on my shot. When they go in in the game, it's a good feeling."
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
