Quincy Ballard scored 19 points, Corey Washington added a double-double and host Wichita State upset No. 14 Memphis 84-79 in overtime on Sunday in an American Athletic Conference matchup.
Washington finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds for the Shockers (15-10, 5-7 AAC), hitting both ends of a one-and-one with 18.9 seconds left in overtime for a three-point lead. After Tyrese Hunter airballed a 3-pointer out of bounds, Xavier Bell sealed the outcome by making two foul shots with four seconds remaining.
Bijan Cortes contributed 13 points for Wichita State, while Bell chipped in 12 and Harlond Beverly came off the bench to tally 11 points and six assists. The Shockers carved out a 54-45 rebounding advantage and a 50-34 edge in points in the paint.
Hunter scored a game-high 24 points for the Tigers (21-5, 11-2) but made only 7 of 21 shots from the field. PJ Haggerty added 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists but hit just 4 of 18 attempts. Moussa Cisse and Nicholas Jourdain each bagged 12 points, and Cisse added 14 rebounds.
Wichita State forced overtime when Ronnie Degray III was fouled trying for an offensive rebound and sank two foul shots with 18.1 seconds left. Memphis had a chance to win as time expired but Colby Rogers came up short on a stepback 3-pointer.
The pregame storyline was whether Wichita State could muck up the tempo like it did on Jan. 23, when it led most of the second half at then-No. 24 Memphis before the Tigers surged late for a 61-53 win.
The answer Sunday was a decided yes.
The Shockers were able to match Memphis by controlling the boards in the first half. Neither team made better than 32.4 percent from the field and they combined to shoot a brutal 5-of-23 from the 3-point line. But Wichita State outrebounded the Tigers 33-22, grabbing 11 offensive caroms.
Washington ended the half with a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double and made a 3-pointer at the 2:17 mark that helped build a 31-25 lead. While Memphis responded with Hunter’s three-point play with five seconds remaining, it still headed for intermission trailing 32-28.
–Field Level Media
