PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas - Wichita State gave unbeaten Saint Mary's everything it could handle in the opening game of the Battle 4 Atlantis, but came up just short, 70-65, Wednesday night in the quarterfinals.

Wichita State (4-2) will now go through the loser's bracket and face Colorado State on Thanksgiving at 7 p.m. CT on ESPNU.

Saint Mary's (7-0) had beaten its first six opponents by an average of nearly 30.0 points per game, but Wichita State pushed the Gaels to the wire. Five Shockers finished in double figures, led by Kenyon Giles and TJ Williams with 15 points apiece. Giles scored 12 of his 15 after halftime, including eight straight to pull Wichita State within three after falling behind by 10. Karon Boyd, Dre Kindell and Emmanuel Okorafor all added 10 points, respectively.

The Gaels came into the night ranked third nationally in three-point percentage, but Wichita State held them to just 2-of-16. 

Saint Mary's opened with a quick 7–2 burst behind a pair of early buckets from Lewis and Murauskas. The Gaels later pushed the margin to 13-4 at the 14:31 mark, their largest first-half lead, capitalizing on multiple WSU turnovers.

The Shockers responded with their best run of the night—a 12-0 sprint keyed by transition baskets from Williams, a fast-break layup from Kindell and a Giles pull-up three that put WSU ahead 16-13 with 12:15 left.

The remainder of the half featured four ties and five lead changes. Lewis steadied the Gaels with 11 first-half points, while Williams (11) and Kindell (5 off the bench) sparked the WSU attack.

Dillan Shaw's corner three and two late free throws from Rory Hawke helped the Shockers pull within 33-31 at the break.

Out of halftime, Saint Mary's leaned heavily on its inside duo. Andrew McKeever scored twice on hook shots, and Paulius Murauskas added back-to-back paint touches to push the Gaels ahead 39–35.

WSU stayed within striking distance behind tough mid-range shots from Giles and Boyd, but the biggest challenge came on the glass—McKeever collected five offensive rebounds, repeatedly generating second-chance opportunities that allowed the Gaels to maintain a two-possession cushion for much of the half.

A Murauskas put-back and free throws at the 11:43 mark extended the lead to 49-43, and his sweeping hook at 11:02 gave SMC a 51-43 lead.

The Shockers mounted a final charge in the closing four minutes. Giles drilled back-to-back threes—one from the right wing, then another off a high ball screen—to trim the deficit to 62-60 with 3:35 left.

After two Joshua Dent free throws pushed the Gaels ahead by four, Kindell delivered the biggest Shocker bucket of the night: a deep left-wing three to give Wichita State a 65-64 lead with 1:16 remaining, its first advantage of the half.

But Saint Mary's immediately responded. Dent answered with a pull-up in the paint to retake the lead, Murauskas converted four straight free throws in the final 18 seconds, and the Shocker offense could not convert on two late three-point looks.