By Ken Cross
TAMPA, Fla. – Wichita State guard Xavier Bell rang loudly in the Shockers’ 75-70 win over South Florida. His relentless attacking style on the offensive end of the floor allowed him to score 26 points as he made 14-of-15 free throws.
“He’s got tremendous quickness, but he’s deceptive,” said Bulls coach Ben Fletcher. “Our guys did a good job because they knew that he wanted to drive left. He kind of rock steps you where he is so quick. I don’t think you realize it until you are out there on the floor with him.”
Bell scored eight points in 5:06 as Wichita State turned a 40-34 deficit into a 49-42 lead with 13:11 left in the game. He drove left for a layup and then hit a pair of free throws as Ronnie DeGray, III, supported him with a pair of scores off rebounds and a free throw as he converted the conventional three-point play.
“He does a really good job of side-stepping and making finishes around the rim,” Fletcher commented. “He’s definitely one of the better finishers in our league. Like I say, he’s cat quick.”
Quincy Ballard led the Shockers with 12 points and 12 rebounds as his length and athleticism were major components in the win.
Jamille Reynolds led South Florida’s resurgence late in the game after Corey Washington’s driving layup gave the Shockers a 67-61 lead with 3:58 remaining.
Reynolds connected on seven consecutive Bulls points as he would post up and draw fouls. He made five free throws while scoring on a spin move on the right side to cut the Shockers lead to 69-66.
Brandon Stroud then pushed the Bulls in transition as he pushed the ball by a defender to the basket with sheer speed, drawing a foul on Bell. He made two free throws which gave the Bulls a chance as Stroud cut the Shockers lead to 69-68 with one minutes remaining.
“Trying to get downhill, get a foul,” said Stroud. “The refs are calling it tight. The ref called the foul, and I was just trying to get into the paint to get an easy bucket.”
The Bulls held Wichita State to 39 percent from the floor, but the Shockers scored 24 points off of 19 offensive rebounds as Wichita State outrebounded South Florida, 42-22.
“It wasn’t from a lack of effort, but their guards did such a good job driving that we had to help,” said Fletcher. “Once you help, you put two people on the ball. Once you put two people on the ball and that shot goes up, it’s hard to get back to a body a lot of times.”
Reynolds led the Bulls with 18 points and six boards while guard Jimmie Williams had a huge game off the bench, scoring 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting as Stroud scored 11.
“I try to stay in the gym,” said Williams. “I think we as a team just need to stay in the gym more. We had a lot of open shots we could have hit today, but they’re going to fall eventually.”
Both teams were down two players due to injuries as South Florida was without Kobe Knox and De’Ante Green. Wichita State was thin at the point with staring point guard Justin Hill and backup point man Zion Pipkin were out, thus, Xavier Bell created on the point.