Dennis, Etienne Shoot Shockers Past Tulane

WICHITA, Kan. — Dexter Dennis and Tyson Etienne both topped 20 points to lead Wichita State to an 82-57 rout of Tulane on Sunday afternoon at a sold-out Charles Koch Arena.

Wichita State (19-6, 7-5 American) posted its 100th win by 20-or-more points under Gregg Marshall (2007-pr.).

The Shockers led 50-20 at halftime. The 30-point midway margin tied for the sixth-largest in school history.

Dennis scored a career-high 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting to go with nine rebounds. He was 4-of-5 from distance.

Tyson Etienne (20 points) tied WSU’s freshman record with six three-pointers on eight attempts. That matches a mark set six other times, most recently by Dennis last year and by Landry Shamet during the 2016-17 season.

Jaime Echenique aqdded 10 points and five rebounds.

Jamarius Burton scored nine points and handed out a game-high seven assists with just one turnover. He becomes just the sixth Shocker to reach 200 career assists by the end of his sophomore season, joining a list that includes both Shamet and Fred VanVleet.

Jordan Walker scored a team-high 14 points off the bench to lead Tulane (10-15, 2-11), which has dropped its last nine games.

Tulane entered the day ranked 13th nationally in turnover margin but among the bottom 10 in rebounding margin.

That’s precisely how things played out. The Shockers were plus-17 on the glass (48-31) but committed 16 turnovers to the Green Wave’s eight.

The Shockers shot 48.3 percent from the field and a season-best 54.2 percent from beyond the arc. Eight of their 13 threes came in the first half.

By contrast, Tulane made just 2-of-18 threes and finished up at 34.5 percent.

The Shockers made 15 of their first 23 shots to start the game.

Dennis hit three triples in just over five minutes. Etienne drilled back-to-back to put the Shockers up 24-10 near the midway point.

It was a 24-12 game before Wichita State exploded with a 17-2 run, fueled by transition baskets.

One of the highlights came near the 8:00-mark when Asbjorn Midtgaard swatted a shot, and Grant Sherfield lobbed to ball to Dennis for an alley-oop slam.

Etienne’s third three of the half made it a 32-point lead (50-18) with 38 seconds to play in the half.

The teams traded baskets for much of the second half. The Green Wave used a 10-0 run to close to within 70-48 with 7:01 to play.

The Shockers responded with a 9-0 push, fueled by Etienne’s fifth and sixth three-pointers of the day.


NOTABLE:

  • Etienne joins Shamet as the only Marshall Era freshmen to score 20-or-more points in multiple games. Etienne had a career-high 21 against UT Martin back on Nov. 16, 2019. Shamet did it three times during his redshirt freshman year, the last of which came in the 2017 NCAA tournament against Kentucky.
  • Two Shockers topped 20 in the same game for the first time since Jan. 6, 2018 against Temple when seniors Markis McDuffie and Samajae Haynes-Jones put up 24 and 22 respectively.
  • Dennis notched his first 20-point game as a Shocker. He had scored 19 points on three occasions, most recently against Texas Southern in the season opener.
  • Etienne (53 three-pointers) now has the fifth-highest freshman season total in Shocker history. Shamet nailed 72 three years ago.
  • 20-points matched the season-low for a Shocker opponent. Wichita State led 33-20 at halftime of Thursday’s win over UCF.
  • WSU is 14-2 at home this year.
  • The Shockers improved to 4-0 against Tulane – all since 2018.

 


UP NEXT:

  • Wichita State welcomes the USF Bulls on Thursday night. Tickets are available at 316-978-FANS or online at goshockers.com/tickets. The 6 p.m. CT tip airs nationally on CBS Sports Network.
  • The Shockers won the first meeting with USF on Jan. 21, 56-43.
  • In partnership with the American Cancer Society Coaches vs. Cancer, Wichita State will take the court in pink jerseys, shorts and shoes. Shocker fans are also encouraged to dress the part. Limited edition pink t-shirts are available for now for just $12 at all Shocker Store locations and online at shockerstore.com.