The RoundHouse | 2/20/2022 4:09:00 PM

 
Wichita State deserves all the praise grounded in all the cliches after a heart-breaking loss. The Shockers battled, punched back, showed grit, and played almost to exhaustion against one of the nation's top teams.
 
No. 14 Houston, however, did all that and just a bit more to win 76-74 in double overtime at Koch Arena on Sunday. The Shockers earned applause from their fans after the game and Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson called it a "hell of a game" that Wichita State easily could have won.
 
"One team walked away happy, but their kids fought their hearts out," Sampson said.
 
That leaves the Shockers (13-11, 4-8 American Athletic Conference) contemplating the frustrating mistakes that helped the Cougars (21-4, 11-2). The margin of error is small against the Cougars and the Shockers undid their good work with the kind of lapses Houston thrives on.
 
Wichita State committed two turnovers off inbound plays. They made 23 of 26 foul shots, but two of those misses by guard Craig Porter Jr. came at crucial times. While the Shockers hustled and dove for loose balls, the Cougars came up with more to extend possessions after good defense by Wichita State.
 
The Cougars used their height and strength to score big on second shots. Houston's switch to a zone defense late in the second overtime negated Wichita State's success driving to the basket and induced a bad pass by Tyson Etienne that led to a three-point play for the Cougars, after two offensive rebounds.
 
"Turnovers late," Wichita State coach Isaac Brown said. "Second-chance points."
 
 

Kenny in the clutch!

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5:09 2h | 🌾47, 😼 47 pic.twitter.com/L7ymrKA3Kl

— Wichita State Men's Basketball (@GoShockersMBB) February 20, 2022

Most painfully, Houston guard Jamal Shead had the presence to push the ball through the defense for a game-winning dunk with 1.3 seconds to play by J'Wan Roberts. Porter's three-pointer with eight seconds to play tied the game. Shead, helped by a screen, knew exactly how to respond.
 
"There's a reason they're a top 25 team," Brown said. "It was a big-time play by a big-time player."
 
The shame of Sunday is that it wasted so many good performances.
 
Porter, who scored 17 points, eight in the second overtime, and the Cougars had to go to a zone to deal with his driving and back-to-the basket game.

"The guy we couldn't guard was Porter," Sampson said. "He's kind of got an old man's game. He looks like a dad backing his son up in the paint and scoring over the top of him."

Ricky Council IV tormented Houston with his driving ability. He scored 17 points and made 7 of 8 fouls shots, to go with 10 rebounds. Etienne added 15 points, five rebounds and four assists. Freshman center Kenny Pohto, who played 31 minutes, scored nine points and helped spread the Houston defense with two three-pointers.
 
Council played 48 minutes, Etienne 47 and Porter 43.
 
 

No-look provides a good look. @TheTyEtienne1 to @MorrisUdeze24. #watchus

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5:47 1H | 🌾20, 😼 15 pic.twitter.com/RoRGqpBOf4

— Wichita State Men's Basketball (@GoShockersMBB) February 20, 2022

What's left is the hope the Shockers can play that well again, a hope that Porter's continued progress and Council's consistent offensive threat can make them a more complete team. After some subpar defensive efforts, the Shockers held Houston to 39.2 percent shooting.
 
"It's more confidence-building than anything," Etienne said. "That's a great team. We took them all the way down to the wire. That gives us a lot of confidence. We've got to get as much momentum as we can going into the conference tournament."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.