WSU Sports
Bryan Holmgren, Assistant Director of Media Relations
WICHITA – Samjae Haynes-Jones scored a team-high 27 points, and No. 11/11 Wichita State survived a scare from Arkansas State, 89-80, Tuesday evening at Charles Koch Arena.
WSU (9-2) trailed 50-44 at halftime and by as many as nine points in the opening minutes of the second half before bouncing back. The Shockers took the lead with just over 12 minutes to play and forged in front for good on Haynes-Jones three-pointer at the 10:39 mark.
WSU played without starting shooting guard Conner Frankamp, who suffered from a migraine.
Haynes-Jones (11-of-17, 4-of-7 from three) made the most of his increased minutes, scoring 18 of his 27 in the second half.
Landry Shamet finished with 18 points and six assists without a turnover. Darral Willis Jr. (14 points, seven rebounds) and Shaquille Morris (10) joined him in double-figures. Rashard Kelly had a strong all-around game with nine points, eight rebounds (six on the offensive end) and five assists.
ASU (4-8) converted 10-of-16 three-point attempts in the first half before running out of steam. The Red Wolves made just 1-of-11 attempts in the second half and closed the game with nine-straight misses from deep.
Deven Simms led the Red Wolves with 30 points and 10 rebounds. He was 9-of-17 from the field and 11-of-11 at the foul line in 38 minutes.
The Shockers extended their Charles Koch Arena winning streak to 24 games. They’ve also won 44-in-a-row at the Roundhouse against non-conference foes, dating back to February 2011.
WSU shot 53.1 percent for the game and banked 22 assists with just eight turnovers.
ASU finished at 49.1 percent. After hitting 62 percent in the first half, the Red Wolves were 10-of-28 (35.7 percent) over the final 20 minutes.
Austin Reaves scored all nine of his points in the first 3:50, and the Shockers seemed destined to run away for an easy win.
Reaves – whose parents both played basketball for Arkansas State in the early 90s — connected three times from deep to spur a 12-0 Shocker run. Willis’ tip-in made it a 17-4 lead at the 15:39-mark.
ASU hit 8-of-11 shots to begin the game and were 11-of-15 heading into the under-8:00 timeout. Grantham Gillard’s three-pointer and a pair of Simms free throws capped a 10-2 push to give the Redwolves the lead, 30-29, with 7:59 to go in the half.
The lead changed hands four times over the next three minutes.
Kelly converted a three-point play. On the next trip down, he snagged an offensive rebound and kicked out to Shamet for a go-ahead three.
Back-to-back threes by Cockfield gave ASU a 47-40 lead.
Simms joined the Red Wolves’ three-point party with one of his own just before halftime, and ASU went into the break up 50-44.
The Red Wolves were 10-of-16 from three in the first half. They came in averaging just 7.0 threes per game (232nd nationally) on .344 shooting (214th).
Simms (15 points) and Cockfield (13) accounted for 28 of the 50 ASU points in the first half.
Willis (10), Reaves (9) and Haynes-Jones (9) topped the Shockers’ first-half scoring chart.
WSU shot a respectable 50 percent from the field on 5-of-11 three-point shooting and committed just four turnovers.
ASU scored just eight of its 50 points in the paint but outrebounded WSU 15-13.
Arkansas State’s lead grew to nine in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Shockers buckled down defensively
WSU needed less than eight minutes to surge in front. Morris scored twice, and Haynes-Jones drilled a three during a 9-0 run that tied the game at 57.
After an ASU bucket, Haynes-Jones swished a jumper and Shamet hit a three to give the Shockers their first lead since the 6:03-mark of the first half, 62-59 with 12:16 to go in the game.
ASU moved in front on back-to-back buckets, but Haynes-Jones gave the Shockers the lead for good with his third triple of the night, 65-63, with 10-and-a-half minutes on the clock.
Shamet’s three and Kelly’s thunderous slam pushed the Shocker lead to 72-65 with 7:58 to go.
In the ensuing chaos, ASU head coach Mike Balado picked up a technical foul, resulting in two Shocker free throws. Shamet added another three less than a minute later to cap a 10-0 run. Just like that, WSU led by a dozen, 77-65.
Shaquille Morris and head coach Gregg Marshall each drew technical fouls in the closing minutes. Simms knocked down four free throws after the latter to pull ASU within five, 83-78, with still 2:57 to play.
Simms’ jumper at the 2:33-mark made it an 84-80 game.
Haynes-Jones turned the tide for WSU with a three. Shamet got a tough layup to go with 1:16 remaining for the final margin, as ASU went the final two-and-a-half minutes without scoring.
WSU closes out non-conference play Friday against Florida Gulf Coast. The 6 p.m. CT tip airs on CBS Sports Network.