The RoundHouse | 12/8/2024 10:46:00 AM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
The passing is what stands out about the final four minutes of the first, a stretch that Wichita State could use to fill up its highlight video from the season's first nine games.
 
Lots of good passing. Lot of good passers and ball-handlers on the court together. That is what makes this team go and the Shockers showed it in Saturday's 96-87 win over East Tennessee State at Koch Arena. Guards Justin Hill, Bijan Cortes and Harlond Beverly each handed an assist (or two) in that stretch to demonstrate the power of multiple players making smart decisions.
 
"It makes everything easier," Beverly said.
 
Hill appreciates sharing ball-handling duties with Cortes. Hill said the pairing with Cortes – who had a career-high eight assists and two turnovers – frees him up to do more scoring.
 
"It's my first time playing with a play-making guard who is pass-first," Hill said. "He gets into the paint with ease. We can draw a lot of attention from the defense."
 
To recap, the Shockers (8-1) led 37-33 when the showstoppers started against the Buccaneers (6-4). All the items coach Paul Mills talks about – getting the ball into the paint, smart passes, no turnovers, hustle, good shots – showed up.
 
 

The man is straight cookin' 🔥@Corey_duceduce pic.twitter.com/f26uJ9HxmZ

— Wichita State Men's Basketball (@GoShockersMBB) December 8, 2024

 
 
Beverly stole a lazy pass. He drew the defense to the right side of the lane and found Cortes open on the left side for a three-pointer. Cory Washington followed with a tip dunk, one created by Hill's drive into the lane. After a Shocker rebound, Cortes pushed the ball into the lane. He drew in the retreating defense and passed to Washington for a three-pointer – his 15^th point of the half - and a 45-33 lead.
 
"You could feel the energy in the room as soon as we started making plays," Washington said. "We were on a roll."
 
Hill blocked a three-pointer. Washington dove to save the loose ball and flipped it to Hill, who passed ahead to Cortes on the wing. He lobbed to Quincy Ballard, outrunning the ETSU bigs, for a dunk. Beverly again got into the lane and bounced a perfect pass to Cortes, who cut through the lane while the defense watched Beverly, for a layup and a 49-35 lead.
 
A short jumper by Hill and a three-pointer by Xavier Bell – on a pass from Hill – completed the run for a 54-37 lead at halftime.
 
"Everybody can go make a play and get a piece of the paint," Hill said.
 
Mills appreciated the play most likely to be overlooked – Hill's blocked shot and Washington's dive to the floor. Hill's determination to fight through a screen and contest the shot and Washington's save is the grit needed to get to the high-flying fun.
 
"People appreciate that stuff," Mills said. "This is a game that honors toughness. When we're not tough and we're not doing the things, we need to do, it's going to come back to bite us."
 
Washington gave a clinic on pursuit of the basketball, physical play and grabbing the ball with two hands. He finished with 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. WSU gave up offensive rebounds on 26.2 percent of the missed ETSU shots, well below the 35.6 percent against Alcorn State and 46.5 against Florida. WSU's season percentage is 29.6, which ranks No. 172 out of 364 teams, according to Ken Pomeroy's stats.
 
"(Washington) will go get the basketball," Mills said. "That's what he does."
 
Hill took over in the second half by making 5 of 8 shots and 5 of 6 free throws to score 15 of his 20 points. His drives to the rim put ETSU in foul trouble and helped the Shockers to a 10-point edge at the line.
 
"It worked a couple times, and we kept going with it," Hill said.
 
The things that worked on Saturday for the Shockers will work all season.  
 

Weekend win.

🎥 Highlights vs. ETSU pic.twitter.com/g2ulL4QicB

— Wichita State Men's Basketball (@GoShockersMBB) December 8, 2024

 
 
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.