WICHITA, Kansas -- Wichita State (17-16) opened the game on a 14-3 run and never looked back, defeating Buffalo (21-12), 84-73, Wednesday night inside Charles Koch Arena in the opening round of the College Basketball Invitational.
Clevin Hannah and Ramon Clemente led the team in scoring with 14 points each. All five Shocker starters reached double figures as Toure' Murry finished with 12 points while Graham Hatch and JT Durley had 10 points each.
The Bulls were led by Rodney Price's 17 points. Greg Gamble and Max Boudreau each finished with 10 points.
WSU's opening 14-3 run got a jump start from two early three pointers from Murry. The Shockers' frantic defense forced five turnovers and limited the Bulls to just three shots in the game's first five minutes.
UB pulled to within seven, 21-14, on a jumper by Pierce with 11:22 to play in the half. WSU answered with a jumper from Durley and an old-fashioned three-point play by Clemente, part of a 9-2 run to extend the lead to 30-16. Hatch capped the run with an offensive rebound and putback of a missed three-point attempt by Durley.
Another offensive rebound and putback by Hatch gave WSU its biggest lead of the half, 38-20, with just over six minutes left in the half and the Shockers took a 45-29 advantage into halftime.
In the first half the Shockers shot 53-percent from the field including 45-percent from beyond the arc, while holding the Bulls to just 37-percent from the field. UB was held to just one three-pointer on six attempts and turned the ball over nine times.
The Bulls began to heat up to start the second half as UB tried to cut into the deficit with improved three-point shooting. UB connected from deep three times in the first nine minutes of the half. A Calvin Betts three-pointer cut the Shocker lead to 12, 57-45, but WSU answered the Bulls' threats each time. Hannah knocked down two of his four three-pointers to help stop the Bulls' rally.
UB switched to a 1-3-1 zone midway through the half. Not even a defensive change could slow the Shockers on a night that would see WSU reach its highest point total of the season. David Kyles gave WSU its biggest lead of the night, 72-52, with a three-pointer from the wing.
The Bulls mounted one last charge, but a Kyles put an exclamation point on the night with a fastbreak dunk that brought the Shocker faithful to their feet. Titus Robinson and Gamble scored in the final seconds for the 84-73 final score.
Along with his 14 points, Hannah had a game-high eight assists to help the Shockers rack-up a season-high 22 assists. WSU shot 53-percent for the game, including 50-percent from three-point range while holding the Bulls to just 37-percent for the game.
WSU will host Stanford at Charles Koch Arena next Mon., March 23. Season ticket holders will have this Thursday and Friday (March 19-20) to claim their seats. Any unclaimed seats will go on sale to the general public at 6 p.m., on Fri., March 20, on GoShockers.com.
In addition to purchasing tickets online, the Shocker Ticket office will be open from 8 a.m.-12 p.m., on Sat., March 21. The ticket office will open at 8 a.m. on Monday morning and be open all day.
Coach Gregg Marshall discussed the Shockers' victory against the Buffalo Bulls in the opening round of the College Basketball Invitational on Wednesday.
Coach Marshall on Reggie Chamberlain’s injury in the second half: “First of all, the game doesn’t mean much if Reggie Chamberlain has sustained an injury. I’ve got to get over to that hospital to see how he’s doing. The good news is he was alert and talking, moving and cognizant of having taken a charge. He actually asked if he had taken a charge on the way to the ambulance.”
“I asked him to move his leg and he moved his leg, so that was good. The fans acknowledged even that—they’re incredible.”
Marshall on the Buffalo Bulls: “I knew going in that Buffalo was going to be a very tough team, and they proved to be that. They’re very tenacious on the glass. (Coach) Reggie Witherspoon is doing a very nice job with that team. He’s really turned that program around, and he got a lot of good, young players. With that said, they were a quality opponent and I was pleased with our effort and pleased with our performance. It was obviously good enough to advance in this type of tournament. To be able to host another game against another quality opponent in this arena is very special. It’s a postseason win no matter how you slice it and we’re excited to be playing again next Monday.”
Marshall on the fans on Wednesday night: “What did we end up with tonight – 6,647? It sounded more like 10 (thousand) to me. The people that were here made it sound like a sellout. It was a great atmosphere, I thought.”
“I don’t want to take away from the performance of our guys. The players have to play. They’ve certainly not played well in front of a crowd that size, but we love our fans. We love the atmosphere that we play in. Coach Witherspoon was extremely complimentary. He mentioned that he asked me last summer about making the move out here, and he said when he finally got out here it didn’t surprise him. He was very impressed.”
Marshall on Graham Hatch’s performance: “He was really good on the offensive glass and the stick-backs. Ten (points) and five (rebounds) is very good for him. I thought A.J. (Hawkins) also played really well in his minutes. As long as we can get the combined contribution of 16 points and five rebounds, that’s not bad for the three spot.”
