Will Berg only had four points in Wichita State’s win over Northern Iowa last weekend, but he made the last two really count.
The 7-foot-2 center from Sweden grabbed an offensive rebound with 25 seconds left and put back a go-ahead layup in the Shockers’ 74-69 overtime win.
Berg and the rest of the Shockers (6-4) will try to keep their momentum going Saturday afternoon when they host DePaul (7-3) in Wichita, Kan.
Shockers coach Paul Mills was impressed by how well Berg learned from a past mistake. On Nov. 26, he grabbed a late offensive rebound against Saint Mary’s, tried to pass the ball back out and threw it away in the closing seconds of a 70-65 loss.
“I have told our team, being from a blue-collar city, we have to make the tough plays,” Mills said. “Our approach was much better. Will Berg was not allowed to play his game the whole game because of matchups and the way they played. A lot of guys would have just given up. But he grabbed that offensive rebound and — unlike Saint Mary’s — got his eyes to rim.”
Berg is averaging 7.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.
Kenyon Giles leads the Shockers with 17.1 points per game and Karon Byrd is scoring 10.6 per game and pulling down 6.2 rebounds.
The Blue Demons are coming off a 92-49 win over Morgan State. DePaul coach Chris Holtmann was happy to see his players making shots and was thrilled with their unselfishness, tallying 21 assists on 26 made field goals.
“The hardest thing in sports is to play with a free mind,” Holtmann said. “No agenda. We talk about it all the time. They have no agenda on their minds right now outside of them helping their teammates, their brothers, as well as they can on that possession.”
CJ Gunn the Blue Demons with 13.8 points per game and averages 3.4 rebounds. Layden Blocker scores 12.2 points per game and dishes a team-high 3.7 assists. NJ Benson adds 11.2 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds.
–Field Level Media
