Missed free throws spoil comeback bid for Wichita State basketball in loss at Tulane

Nothing can derail a comeback quite like missed free throws.

Just ask the Wichita State men’s basketball team, which was in the mist of a major comeback against Tulane until four straight clanks from the foul line reversed the game’s momentum.

The 291st-best free throw shooting team in the country added another painful chapter in the regular-season finale on Friday evening, as Tulane snapped its seven-game losing streak with an 85-75 win over Wichita State at Fogelman Arena.

“Nobody is missing four free throws on purpose,” WSU head coach Paul Mills said. “It’s been a problem all year for us, so there’s been no notion that we would all of a sudden be a top-100 free throw shooting team. It is what it is. You’ve got to be able to deliver and unfortunately, we didn’t.”

The Shockers were on the comeback trail from 15 points down and had the opportunity to cut their deficit to a single possession, but four straight front-rim misses squandered a majority opportunity to steal a road win.

Instead, Tulane scored the next four points and WSU, which finished 12-of-20 at the foul line, never recovered.

The loss sealed WSU’s fate for a bottom-four finish in the American Athletic Conference standings, as the Shockers (13-18, 4-14 AAC) will have to wait until this weekend’s results to determine whether they will be the No. 12 or No. 13 seed at next week’s conference tournament in Fort Worth, Texas.

WSU will play an opponent to be determined later — possibly a rematch with Tulane — at noon on Wednesday.

“We’re just focused on trying to go 1-0,” WSU junior Colby Rogers said. “We just have to focus on winning that first one and then we can worry about what comes next after that. That first one is all that matters now.”

Rogers continued his torrid scoring pace of late, tying his career-high with 29 more points on 9-of-22 shooting on Friday. It was his third straight 20-plus performance, giving him a total of 83 points and 18 3-pointers in his last three games.

Meanwhile, Quincy Ballard notched a double-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. In another road loss, which finished WSU’s record at 1-8 in conference play, Rogers’ spirited play was a highlight for Mills.

“There’s a difference between playing basketball and playing winning basketball,” Mills said. “Colby is all about winning. I told the team afterwards how scrappy he was for him to play all 40 minutes for us. We needed all (29 points) just to have a chance to win. I just appreciate guys that care about playing winning basketball like he does.”

WSU’s comeback from 15 down began with less than 12 minutes remaining, as an Xavier Bell layup capped a 9-1 run to cut Tulane’s lead to 66-59 with 9:18 left. Harlond Beverly and Rogers teamed up for layups and 3s to cut the deficit to 75-69 with 5:29 left.

That’s when WSU missed its chance to cut further into the deficit when Kevin Cross was whistled for a flagrant foul on Ronnie DeGray III, who missed both of his free throws following a lengthy review. WSU retained possession because of the foul and Beverly drew a foul, but also missed both of his free throws.

WSU would never get back closer than six points from Tulane for the final five minutes.

Also an issue: A cascade of live-ball turnovers sent the Shockers spiraling at the start of the second half.

WSU’s two-point halftime lead turned into a 10-point deficit within the first five minutes of the second half before Mills was forced to use a timeout to stop the momentum of the 11-0 run.

“We upped the intensity at the end, but it felt like they were pushing us around there for a little bit and we were being a little passive,” Rogers said. “We just had to be more aggressive and put the pressure on them and attack them.”

A live-ball turnover from Bijan Cortes created another fast break for Tulane, which resulted in a free throw to extend its lead to 65-50 with 11:36 remaining. That’s when Mills turned to a small-ball lineup with no traditional playing to spark a comeback.

WSU dominated the battles for loose balls and rebounds in the first half, as the Shockers held a 12-1 advantage in offensive rebounds and 12-3 edge in second-chance points. But Tulane didn’t need many second chances to hang with WSU, 44-42, because it shot 56% from the field in the first half.

Mills was particularly disappointed in giving up 32 free throws to Tulane, which entered third in the nation in free throws made per game and used a 23-12 advantage at the line to find the game’s difference.

“We knew coming in that they were 0-12 anytime they didn’t shoot 28 free throws,” Mills said. “So we have to do a better job at defending without fouling. At the end of the day, our lack of discipline caught up to us. I thought it was more us, discipline-wise, than anything that was happening offensively.”