WICHITA—WICHITA --Â
Tyson Etienne matched his season-high with 29 points and became the fastest Shocker to 100 career threes as Wichita State rallied past UCF in overtime, 93-88, Saturday afternoon at Charles Koch Arena.
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Helped by Etienne's timely shooting and its full-court press, WSU (9-4, 5-2) erased an eight-point deficit in the final 3:55 of regulation and rallied again from five-down in overtime.
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Etienne connected on 5-of-10 shots from beyond the arc, including the go-ahead basket with 1:03 to play in OT.  It was his 100
th career three, in just his 44
th game, breaking Landry Shamet's school record (50 games).
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The Shockers forced 23 turnovers, including five over the final 3:12 in regulation and three more in the extra period.
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Brandon Mahan and Jamille Reynolds scored 17-each for UCF (4-7, 2-6), which shot 57.4 percent from the field but missed five of its last six shots in OT.
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WSU shot 46.2 percent and knocked down 10-of-30 from three and 23-of-33 at the foul line.
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Helped by a plus-10 margin, the Shockers outscored UCF 33-10 off of turnovers.
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Morris Udeze reached double-digit scoring for the fourth consecutive game, converting 8-of-9 attempts from the field for 18 points. His 32 minutes were a career-high.
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Reserve forward
Clarence Jackson scored five of his 13 points in overtime to go with a team-high eight rebounds.
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Alterique Gilbert stacked 12 points with seven assists and tallied four of the Shockers' 12 steals.
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Dexter Dennis supplied another 12 points, giving WSU five double-figure scorers for the first time this season.
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DOWN THE STRETCH:
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UCF seemed to have the game in hand after Mahan banked in a three with 3:52 to play in regulation for a 74-66 cushion.
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Instead, WSU scored the next eight points – five of them by Etienne. His three made it a one-possession game with 2:06 to go.
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Dennis tied it with a pair of free throws at the 1:15-mark, and Jackson sank two more to put the Shockers in front with 59 seconds to play.
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Down 77-75, UCF's Dre Fuller Jr. drove the basket, drew a foul and made two clutch free throws with five seconds remaining to get the game to overtime.
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The Knights jumped to an 84-79 in overtime after Darin Green Jr.'s jumper with 2:24 to go.
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WSU's Jackson helped turn the tide, converting an offensive rebound into a three-point play. Moments later, Etienne drilled career triple No. 100 to put the Shockers in front. It was the last of 14 lead changes.
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WSU made 7-of-8 free throws over the final minute.
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NOTABLE:
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The Shockers were unlikely victors, according to ESPN.com. The Knights' win probability topped out at 92.8 percent with 3:45 to play in regulation and at 83.4 percent in overtime.
WSU is now 5-1 in games decided by five points or less, including 2-0 in overtime.
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WSU played overtime at Charles Koch Arena for just the second time in 10 years. The Shockers lost to Temple, 85-81, on Jan. 6, 2019. Prior to that, WSU hadn't played bonus basketball at home since a triple-OT win over Indiana State on Jan. 22, 2011.
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The Shockers improved to 6-0 all-time against UCF (4-0 in Wichita). The teams will meet again Feb. 10 in Orlando.
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The win gives WSU sole possession of second-place in the American Athletic Conference ahead of SMU (5-2) and Memphis (5-2). The Shockers remain a game behind first-place Houston (9-1) in the loss column.
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The Shockers have now won their last seven AAC home games going back to last February.
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UP NEXT:
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WSU continues its homestand Wednesday against Tulane (7 p.m. CT, ESPN+) and Sunday, Feb. 7 versus Temple (2 p.m. CT, ESPNU).
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Start time for the Temple game has been pushed back an hour for television purposes.
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WSU won its only meeting with Tulane last year, 82-57, and is 4-0 against the Green Wave since joining The American.
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