TULSA, Okla. – Wichita State nearly completed an all time comeback, but it came up just short, as the Shockers saw their season come to an end in the NIT quarterfinals at Tulsa, 83-79, Tuesday night at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
Wichita State finishes the season 24-12, its most wins since 2018. The Shockers have improved their win total in each of the three years under head coach Paul Mills, who now owns 58 wins – second most in program history for a coach through his first three seasons.
The first time ever Wichita State and Tulsa met four times in a single season ends in a 2-2 series tie, as the Golden Hurricane advance to the NIT semifinals in Indianapolis. Wichita State had never played a Division I opponent four times in a season.
The record setting season and career of Kenyon Giles came to an end in heartbreaking fashion. He scored 12 points in his final collegiate game, bringing his season totals to 689 points, 125 made three-pointers and 18 games of 20 or more points. He set single season program records in made three-pointers, three-point attempts, three-pointers made per game and three-point attempts per game. His 689 points are third most in program history and his 18 20-point efforts tied for second most.
TJ Williams led all Shockers with 19 points and eight rebounds. Dillon Battie added 17 points and seven rebounds and Karon Boyd chipped in 13 and six in his final collegiate game.
Wichita State shot just 37.5 percent from the field, including 2-of-19 (10.5 percent) from beyond the arc – a season worst. Wichita State clawed back into the game by getting to the free throw line where they converted a season-best 93.5 percent (29-for-31). Tulsa outscored Wichita State by 30 from beyond the arc, as the Golden Hurricane made 12-of-29 attempts.
Wichita State trailed by as many as 24 (30-6) just 8:00 minutes into the game, but fought all the way back to take a two-point lead with 6:34 remaining in the second half. It would have tied the largest comeback win in program history.
Tulsa seized control almost immediately, using a barrage of perimeter shooting and transition offense to overwhelm Wichita State in the opening minutes.
After an early bucket from Tylen Riley, the Golden Hurricane exploded on a 21-2 run over the first six minutes. Back-to-back three-pointers from Miles Barnstable pushed the lead to 21-4 at the 14:03 mark, forcing Wichita State into an early timeout.
Tulsa’s momentum only grew. Ade Popoola capped a 9-0 run with a three-point play at 11:59, stretching the advantage to 30-6 — the largest deficit Wichita State faced all night.
The Shockers struggled from the perimeter (1-for-9 from three in the half) and committed costly turnovers that led to 10 fast-break points for Tulsa. Meanwhile, the Golden Hurricane shot 58.8 percent from three (10-of-17) in the opening half.
Despite the slow start, Wichita State found some rhythm late. Williams scored 11 first-half points, and Battie added eight, helping trim the deficit slightly. A last-second dunk from Williams sent the Shockers into halftime trailing 52-36.
Wichita State came out of the locker room with renewed energy, gradually chipping away at the deficit behind improved defense and aggressive play in the paint.
A key sequence came at the 17:20 mark when Battie converted a three-point play and then followed with a steal and dunk, cutting the deficit to single digits (55-46).
From there, the Shockers leaned heavily on their interior scoring and free throws. Wichita State shot 94.7 percent from the line in the second half (18-of-19) and outscored Tulsa 43-31 after the break.
Giles’ fast-break layup at 15:55 brought Wichita State within seven, and the pressure continued to mount. Later, a transition dunk by Karon Boyd tied the game at 66-66 with 7:21 remaining, completing the comeback from 24 down.
Moments later, Williams gave Wichita State its first lead of the night at 70-68 with 6:34 to play.
Tulsa answered every push in the final stretch.
After Wichita State took a 72-70 lead on a Boyd layup with 4:54 left, Barnstable responded with a three-point play to swing the momentum back. The teams traded baskets and free throws over the next several possessions.
With the game tied at 74-74, Tulsa executed in crunch time. Riley converted a second-chance layup with 1:46 remaining to give the Golden Hurricane a 77-74 edge. On the next possession, Barnstable capitalized on a turnover with a fast-break layup, extending the lead to five.
Wichita State had one final push. Michael Gray Jr. knocked down three free throws with 45 seconds left to cut it to 79-77, and Boyd added a fast-break layup with six seconds remaining to make it a two-point game.
However, Tulsa sealed the win at the line, as Riley knocked down four free throws in the final seconds to secure the 83-79 victory.
