Wade Leads the Way; Shockers Down Omaha in Season Opener

By WSU Athletics Release November 5, 2019

WICHITA, Kan. — Trey Wade became the first Shocker newcomer in 20 years to debut with a double-double, and Wichita State pulled away for a 68-54 victory over Omaha Tuesday night at Charles Koch Arena.

WSU (1-0) won its season-opener for the 17th time in 18 years.

Wade – a 6-foot-6 junior forward – finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in 31 minutes.

Dexter Dennis added 17 points and nine boards while playing a team-high 35 minutes. He was 5-of-9 from three.

True freshman Grant Sherfield finished with 12 points and six assists with just one turnover.

Ayo Akinwole paced Omaha (0-1) with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Goddard Eisenhower product Matt Pile pulled 15 rebounds and scored six points for the Mavericks.

Ahead 31-25 at halftime, WSU created separation early in the second half. Back-to-back Dennis threes keyed a 10-2 push that upped the margin to 14, and the Shockers led by double-digits the rest of the way.

The WSU lead grew to as many as 20 at the 3:54-mark.

The Shockers shot just 36.6 percent from the field but grabbed 15 offensive rebounds and were plus-seven in the turnover column. They finished with 15 assists while committing only seven turnovers.

WSU’s 31 three-point attempts tied for the 10th-most in school history. Etienne, Wade and Dennis combined to hit all 11 of the team’s triples.

Omaha shot just 39.3 percent from the field, including 5-of-19 from deep.

ALSO NOTABLE:

  • Sherfield joins Toure’ Murry (2008), Demetric Williams (2009) and Jamarius Burton (2018) as the only WSU true freshmen to start a season-opener under Gregg Marshall.
  • Trey Wade’s double-double was the first by a Shocker newcomer in 20 years.  The last player to post a double-double in his first game as a Shocker was also a JUCO transfer. O.J. Robinson (also a junior college transfer) put up 13 and 11 in his debut against McNeese State on Nov. 19, 1999.
  • Jamarius Burton left the game early in the first half with an ankle injury and did not return. Starting center Jaime Echenique and reserve guard Noah Fernandes did not suit up due to injury.
  • The Shockers lead the all-time series with Omaha, 3-0. All three wins have come in Wichita.
  • WSU has won five-straight regular season games going back to Feb. 28, 2019.
  • Marshall improved to 503-196 in 22 seasons and took over sole possession of 98th on the all-time NCAA Division I wins list. He had entered the night tied with Billy Donovan and two others.
  • The Shockers are 212-40 since Charles Koch Arena’s 2003 renovation.
  • WSU is 163-26 at CKA under Gregg Marshall.
  • WSU has won 83 of its last 90 games at CKA going back to the start of the 2013-14 season.
  • Tuesday night’s official attendance was 10,056. It was the Shockers’ 227th consecutive regular season crowd of 10,000+ dating back to December of 2004.

UP NEXT:

  • WSU continues a five-game homestand to begin the 2019-20 season when it plays host to Texas Southern on Saturday afternoon. The 7 p.m. CT tip will air statewide on YurView Kansas (Cox HD 2022) and streams in all 50 states on YurView.com/Kansas and ESPN3.
  • The Shockers are 3-0 against Texas Southern (2-0 under Marshall). All three games took place in Wichita. The sides last met in November, 2010.
  • TSU piled up three postseason wins last year, advancing to the semifinal round of the CIT. It was the school’s longest run since winning the 1977 NAIA championship.
  • The Tigers (24-14, runner-up in the SWAC regular season) came up a win short of the NCAA Tournament, losing to Prairie View A&M in the conference tournament final.
  • TSU played 24 true road games in 2018-19 and banked non-conference wins at Baylor, Oregon and Texas A&M.