2011 Missouri Valley Conference Basketball |
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Wichita State Shockers @ Creighton Bluejays Basketball Recap Wichita State 68, Creighton 54 The road back to contention for the Missouri Valley Conference’s regular season championship will be long and arduous for the Wichita State Shockers. However, it’s not as though this Valley contender can win 10 games all at once. The journey is a step-by-step, game-by-game process, and on Wednesday night, a shaken team moved forward the way its coaching staff hoped it would. J.T. Durley had 15 points, Toure' Murry had 12, and David Kyles had 13 coming off of the bench to lead a balanced Wichita State attack as the Shockers bounced back from a loss to Missouri Valley Conference leader Missouri State with a solid win against Creighton. Kyles was moved to the bench in a hope to shake him out of a mini-slump, and he responded by going 5-of-9 from the field, including 3-of-7 from three-point range. The Shockers played 10 players; nine of them scored, and all nine of those same players had at least 4 points. Coach Gregg Marshall’s WSU crew truly banded together in banishing the memory of Sunday’s painful 59-56 loss to Missouri State. Playing on the road in Omaha’s Qwest Center, the Shockers failed to be jolted by the Jays and their befuddled head coach, Greg McDermott, who is picking up the pieces from the hasty departure of former bench boss Dana Altman.The Bluejays had their own balanced attack led by Gregory Echenique, who dropped in 12 points. Seven other players scored for the Bluejays; six of them had at least 5 points, but no one else was able to hit double-digit totals. Doug McDermott & Antoine Young, who average 27 points per game between them, managed just a combined 15 as the Creighton kids struggled to a 40-percent night from the field.
The first half was a punch-counterpunch affair, with Creighton taking a lead and Wichita State battling back. The Bluejays took a 28-25 lead into the locker room, aided by Wichita State going 1-11 from downtown. The second half was a different story, as the Shockers came out firing. They started the half 9-13 from the field and took the lead for good on a Kyles' three-pointer with eleven minutes left. The Bluejays defense let them down in the second half as they saw a modest two-game winning streak snapped; the Shockers pulled off a win for the ninth time in their last ten games. This game didn’t feature particularly robust opposition. However, considering the fact that it was a road game following a stomach-punch loss to the leader of the Valley, this might be considered Wichita State’s most crucial and season-sustaining performance of a campaign that’s perched at its midway point.
By: Matt Zemek |