The RoundHouse | 2/1/2022 11:25:00 PM

 
Dexter Dennis should be remembered for games like Tuesday. He missed nine of his 11 shots. He missed two of his four foul shots.
 
Coach Isaac Brown never considered bringing him out of the game. His teammates never hesitated to pass him the ball. No one questioned his value on the court in the 58-48 win over Tulsa at Koch Arena.
 
Dennis, who finished with eight points, played a team-high 35 minutes and finished a team-high plus-17 in the plus-minus statistic. Tuesday's win provided the perfect example of why Brown refers to Dennis as the perfect example for young Shockers.
 
He never lets his offense bring down his defense, so he always stays on the court. He can be counted on to do the hard work of positioning, crouching in a stance, playing help defense, diving on the floor – and the spectacular blocks and steals.
 
I can't recall a game in the two years I've been here that he's slacked up on defense," teammate Ricky Council IV said. "He usually guards the best player and is shutting him down every night."
 
The Shockers (11-8, 2-5) American Athletic Conference) grabbed a desperately needed win. They did it with a defense that held Tulsa to 17 baskets and forced 17 turnovers. The Hurricane (7-13, 108) are a struggling bunch, but the Shockers can take nothing for granted.
 
 

This ball movement is art.

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— Wichita State Men's Basketball (@GoShockersMBB) February 2, 2022

Dennis did a lot of the work to bottle up Tulsa's few scoring threats. He played a lead role in limiting Tulsa forward Jeriah Horne, who averages 16.8 points, to two points on 1-of-11 shooting. Guard Sam Griffin tore up the Shockers with 14 first-half points. Dennis took his turns cooling Griffin later in the game and he finished with 17 points.
 
"He's one of the best on-ball defenders in our conference," Brown said. "A guy that understands scouting reports. A guy that is always in the right spot. Dexter did a tremendous job on (Horne). Griffin got it going early, and we put Dexter on him some and he slowed him down."
 
Dennis' ability to maintain effort on defense during a tough shooting night has always separated him from others. He considers that ability part of the Shocker brand.
 
"It's something that was taught every day," he said. "One thing I know for sure – every day is effort, energy and enthusiasm. I try to bring that every day."
 
The Shockers defeated Tulsa for the 16^th time in 18 meetings and the 10^th straight time in Wichita. If they are going to mount any kind of push in February, it had to start with a home game against the American's last-place team, an old rival that inspired throwback jerseys in a tribute to the MXTE era of the 1980s.
 
"Great team win," Brown said. "I talked to those guys about what 'MTXE' means, so those guys understand about 'Mental Toughness, Xtra Effort.' We talked about being mentally tough."
 
Dennis doesn't need a new uniform to play with effort and toughness. It's marked his career as one of Wichita State's greatest defenders. The Shockers have a lot of work to do to recover from an 0-4 start in conference play.
 
Dennis knows he must deliver more of those 35-minute defensive efforts in February and March. He finished Tuesday's game with eight points, including a three-pointer that extended the lead late in the game, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
 
"I can't have bad days," he said. "It's a big responsibility. I've still got to do more."
 
 

Nope, respectfully.@ldl_dex - @ESPNU

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— Wichita State Men's Basketball (@GoShockersMBB) February 2, 2022

Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.