WSU beats Clemson, stays alive in the NIT

Wichita State continues to apply its famous bracket-busting skills to the NIT.

Jaime Echenique scored a game-high 18 points, and the sixth-seeded Shockers held off No. 2 Clemson, 63-55, Sunday afternoon to advance to the quarterfinals.

WSU (21-14) will take on No. 1 seed Indiana on Tuesday night (6 p.m. CT, ESPN).

WSU never trailed but watched the Tigers trim a 13-point lead to three in the final minute. Samajae Haynes-Jones delivered the biggest shot of the game — a step-back three with 30 seconds to play that extended a 58-55 lead to 61-55.

Echenique hit 7-of-8 shots, including 2-of-3 from distance, and added three steals.

Haynes-Jones recorded his second double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The latter matched his career-high.

Markis McDuffie supplied 16 points – three of them on free throws – in 38 minutes to break a pair a long-standing marks. His 153 free throws are the most by a Shocker under modern free throw rules (1972-Pr.). He also broke Randy Smithson’s season mark for total minutes, set during the 1980-81 season. McDuffie has played in 1,125 minutes this year (an average of just over 33 minutes-per-contest).

Dexter Dennis scored nine points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds while playing effective defense on Clemson leading scorer Marcquise Reed.

Reed scored a team-high 18 points for Clemson (20-14) but needed 20 shots. He was 5-of-20 (0-for-5 from deep) but knocked down 8-of-10 free throws.

The Shockers committed 17 turnovers but outrebounded the Tigers, 38-34, and held them to just 28.3 percent from the field.

NOTABLE

WSU will play in its fourth NIT Quarterfinal on Tuesday. It’s just the second quarterfinal appearance for a Shocker team since 1979 when the bracket expanded to 32 teams.
WSU is trying to become just the sixth team to reach New York by winning three road games. No NIT team has ever swept the No. 1, 2 and 3 seeds to reach MSG.
Gregg Marshall is 501-195 (.720) in 21 seasons.
WSU has won seven-straight NIT games – tied for the eighth-longest streak in NIT history.
WSU has won 13 of its last 16 since starting the year 8-11.
The Shockers are 6-7 this year in true road games with wins in six of their last seven.
WSU is 1-0 all-time vs. Clemson.
Marshall is 2-3 vs. Clemson (all at Littlejohn Coliseum).
McDuffie moved into third on WSU’s single-season scoring list (639 points). Only Xavier McDaniel (844 in 1984-85) and Dave Stallworth (769 in 1964-65) have scored more in a season.