Wichita State basketball finishes with 3-0 record to conclude exhibition trip to Greece

With three double-digit exhibition game victories in hand, plus a full album of sightseeing pictures from around Greece, the Wichita State men’s basketball team concluded its overseas tour on Wednesday.

In a rematch against the University of Calgary, the team WSU defeated on Monday, the Shockers once again handled business in an 84-73 win over the Dinos in Zografou.

In his second straight start, Missouri State graduate transfer Dalen Ridgnal led the team in scoring with 16 points. Not a bad first impression for someone who literally joined the team the day it left for Greece.

Meanwhile, 7-foot junior center Quincy Ballard strung together another impressive performance in Greece with his third straight double-digit scoring game (11 points). After resting last game, veteran Kenny Pohto returned to action and was key for the Shockers in the second half with 16 points. Missouri transfer Ronnie DeGray III followed up his 19-point outburst on Monday with 12 points on Wednesday.

Now comes a daunting travel schedule to return home: WSU is scheduled to leave Athens at 10 a.m. Thursday, followed by layovers in New York and Atlanta with the team finally returning to Wichita just before midnight local time. Given the eight-hour time difference, it will be around 22 hours of travel time.

The experiences, plus a third straight win, should make the hassle worth it.

For the second straight game, WSU head coach Paul Mills opted to sit out veterans in the program to create more playing time for younger players. After sitting Colby Rogers and Pohto last game, Mills sat guard Xavier Bell and forward Isaac Abidde for Wednesday’s game.

That allowed Mills to start incoming freshman Joy Ighovodja, who played extended minutes at both guard positions.

Bolstered by the return of Rogers and Pohto, who played off the bench, the Shockers were able to build a 15-point halftime advantage, 40-25. Ridgnal led the way with nine points in his second straight start.

Just like in WSU’s first two exhibition games, when it trailed at halftime in the first contest and then allowed a double-digit lead to dwindle to four points near the end of the third quarter last game, the Shockers faced adversity again on Wednesday.

Calgary, which has been described as a program with the equivalent talent of a good low-major American college basketball team, once again rallied in the third quarter of Wednesday’s game, trimming the deficit to five points and even tying the score at 64 in the fourth quarter.

When WSU needed production, Pohto was there to deliver.

After Ridgnal broke a 64-all tie, the 6-foot-11 big man from Sweden connected on a corner 3-pointer to extend WSU’s lead to 73-67 midway through the fourth quarter, then capitalized on a mismatch in the post with a decisive spin move to boost WSU’s lead to 77-69.

Once WSU restored its lead to double-digits in the fourth quarter, it was able to ride out another comfortable, double-digit victory.