Men's Basketball | 2/18/2021 9:47:00 PM

 
 
Sneakiness decided the brawl. 
 
Dexter Dennis hid behind the bodies and watched Houston's DeJon Jarreau dribble up court, his team down one point. Jarreau needed to move quickly as the seconds ticked away. He wanted to get the ball to guard Quentin Grimes, Houston's top scorer and author of a banked-in three-pointer seconds earlier.
 
Dennis read that desire all the way. He knew he had a chance to make the play when he saw Grimes wave to attract Jarreau's attention as he crossed half court and position his hands to welcome the ball. 
 
Dennis burst from behind teammate Trey Wade, picked off the pass, drew a flagrant foul on his layup attempt and made two foul shots with 13 seconds to play. Two more foul shots by Tyson Etienne gave the Shockers a five-point lead with 10 seconds to play.
 
"I was hiding a little bit," Dennis said. "I know he didn't see me. I knew (Grimes) was calling for it."
 
Wichita State won 68-63 and the Shockers will enjoy a few days as one of college basketball's hottest topics after knocking off No. 6 Houston and subduing their biggest problem in four seasons as an American Athletic Conference member. The Shockers (13-4, 9-2 American) snapped a six-game losing streak to the Cougars (17-3, 11-3) and moved into first place in the conference.
 
Dennis spent almost all of his 37 minutes on the court guarding Grimes, who dented the Shockers for 22 points in the earlier meeting. He limited Grimes to 13 in the rematch by contesting almost every shot and keeping him off the foul line.
 
"It was really life-saving," guard Alterique Gilbert said. "He did a great job the entire night. I felt really comfortable on the defensive end knowing he was on the floor."
 
All that work paid off with the steal, a defensive play that earned a place in Shocker lore and picked up teammates who twice missed the front end of one-and-ones in the final 1:34. Houston cut an eight-point lead to one, helped by two Shocker turnovers, before Dennis' steal.
 
"He saved us," Etienne said. "Dexter Dennis is being Dexter Dennis. I saw Dexter play through it like a cornerback."
 
The Shockers grabbed an all-important quality win to add to the rapidly improving victory over Mississippi. The Shockers aren't saddled with a "bad" loss, another nice piece of the NCAA resume. They still need to keep winning to move into more solid at-large territory. The next two games against SMU offer chances to strengthen their case.
 
Quality, however, doesn't fully describe the significance of Thursday's win. The Shockers defeated their highest-ranked opponent at home since a 1967 win over No. 2 Louisville and evened their record at 13-13 against Associated Press top 10 opponents at Koch Arena (dating to 1955).
 
"It felt legendary, almost," Dennis said, and he didn't need to add the qualifier.
 
The Shockers led most of the second half because they battled the Cougars evenly when it came to banging bodies and chasing basketballs. They won the rebounding battle 35-33 against one of the nation's best rebounding teams. Both teams grabbed 15 offensive rebounds.  
 
Interim coach Isaac Brown told the Shockers the game would turn on three issues – rebound, rebound, rebound.
 
"They met the challenge," Brown said. "Even if we didn't get the rebound, the ref had to call a foul and once that happened, it kind of equaled everything out."
 
That ability to match Houston's famed aggressiveness helped the Shockers draw fouls and outscore the Cougars 18-5 at the foul line. The Cougars took the lead in the AAC over the past three seasons with great defense and imposing physical presence. 
 
"They're known for toughness," Etienne said. "We do that over here, too."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.