WICHITA, Kansas - Texas Southern's chance at a huge road win fell short in the final minutes as Wichita State held on for a 69-63 win Saturday afternoon.
The first half was about defense as TSU held the Shockers to only five field goals as TSU led for the final 15 minutes of the half. Two free throws by freshman Ja'mare Redus gave TSU a seven-point (16-9) lead with 6:29 left. The Tigers held ground throughout the remainder of the half as they went into the break ahead 24-23.
"I thought our guys did a great job of following our detailed scouting report," Texas Southern coach Johnny Jones said. "We were sound in what we were doing defensively. We knew who their shooters were, and we made sure we were there on the catch and not giving them easy chances. That's a team that generally is a very good executing team, so we wanted to make it tough on them, and I thought our defense did a good job."
WSU would tie the contest at 27-all with 18:30 left in the second quarter. TSU would regain the lead shortly thereafter after a John Jones' three-pointer as it began a back-and-forth affair which saw the lead change four times over the next 12 minutes as neither team would lead by more than three points.
With 6:03 left and the contest tied at 50-all, Wichita State went up 51-50 after a free throw but Yahuza Rasas made 1-of-2 free throws to tie the contest at 51. WSU answered with a jumper on its next possession to move ahead 53-51 but TSU's Justin Hopkins scored a jumper of his own to tie the game once again at 53 with 5:19 on the clock.
WSU would miss a three-pointer on its next attempt but regained the rebound and connected on a trey from Dexter Dennis to move ahead 56-53. TSU would miss its attempt from beyond the arc and the Shockers upped the margin to five after a pair of free throws. The Tigers would close to three with 2:13 left but couldn't get over the hump as WSU hit 7-of-8 free throws to seal the contest.
Eden Ewing led TSU with 18 points and six rebounds while Tyrik Armstrong and John Jones added 11 each. TSU finished with eight blocks defensively as Jethro Tshisumpa led with three blocks while John Walker III added two blocks.
The Tigers will have a week to recuperate as they'll head to Vermillion, S.D. to face South Dakota on Friday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. The series begins the four-game Collegiate Hoops Roadshow.
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Courtesy: TSU Athletics