Owen Prothro / The Sunflower
STILLWATER, Okla. — Paul Mills was pleased, despite his stoic expression and folded arms.
Oklahoma State fans started exiting Gallagher-Iba Arena with four minutes left. Wichita State guard Kenyon Giles drained his seventh 3-pointer. Center Emmanuel Okorafor followed with a dunk.
Players, coaches and fans in black and yellow were on their feet and screaming as the lead stretched to 21 points and shut the door on the Cowboys.
“What indicates fun is are they celebrating each other’s success?” Mills said. “That’s what good teammates do. There was a lot of elevation in the room.”
The Shockers celebrated with each other a lot during a 96-70 win Sunday night in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament — a stark contrast to last season’s disappointing first-round exit at the same venue.
They’ll have at least one more chance to celebrate even more.
Wichita State (24-11) advances to face American Conference rival Tulsa in the quarterfinals, scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Reynolds Center on ESPN2. The meeting will be the teams’ fourth this season.
“Survive and advance,” Giles said. “We understand how hard it is [to win a title]. There’s no byes in this one. We have to go win four or five games.”
Unlike their first-round win over Wyoming on Tuesday, the Shockers didn’t have to rely solely on their 55 rebounds to secure the outcome. While they did pull down 46 boards to Oklahoma State’s 38, they shot an efficient 49.3% from the field for the game, including a 14-of-26 (53.8%) mark from beyond the arc.
Wichita State converted 14 offensive rebounds into 23 second-chance points — more than five times the amount that Oklahoma State ended with.
Giles finished with 28 points on 10-for-24 shooting, going 8-of-16 from deep. Senior forward Karon Boyd contributed 13 points, and sophomore forward Dillon Battie scored 12 to go along with 10 rebounds. Two other Shockers finished with 10 or more points.
Oklahoma State was held to 41.5% shooting from the floor and just 30% from deep. Its season ended at 20-15.
Giles got hot early and often, drilling back-to-back threes — including one from the black and orange OSU logo at Gallagher-Iba Arena — to open an eight-point first-half lead.
The gap quickly widened to 12. Then it was 14. The contingent of Shocker fans filling Sections 212 and 213 generated most of the noise on Oklahoma State’s home court. The Cowboys had to remember where they were.
Christian Coleman took over, helping trim the Shockers’ 14-point lead down to seven by halftime. Coleman, a senior guard, poured in eight more early in the second half, giving Wichita State its only deficit of the game, 47-46.
It didn’t last long.
The Shockers responded with a decisive 14-2 run. The Cowboys went cold. The final score became lopsided following one of Wichita State’s most efficient shooting nights this season.
“Defense is what wins games. Offense will tell you by how much,” Mills said. “It’s a big win from a margin standpoint simply because we shot it really well.”
For the Shockers, they were a team firing on most, if not all, cylinders for the final 20 minutes. With every successful shot or defensive stop, the bench was energized. The crowd grew louder.
By the end, the atmosphere felt more like Koch Arena than a venue two hours away from campus.
“These guys are the best core I’ve been with,” Battie said. “I love that we’re able to continue to win with these guys. It just gives us more games and opportunities.”
For Giles, the run is about more than just advancing.
“This team is the most fun I’ve ever had,” Giles said. “We want to win, win, win, win, but I just want to — if my teammate hits a three, I want to celebrate.
“Because I might not ever get this opportunity again where I can be with guys that love each other. Who want to see each other win and celebrate other people’s success.”
This article was republished here with the permission of: The Sunflower