Shocks thaw out in Canada

BURNABY, B.C. -- It would have been simpler for Wichita State to scrimmage Newman or Friends at Koch Arena so Phil Thomasson and Gal Mekel could get a workout.

The NCAA, however, makes teams go to another country for exhibition games, so the Shockers traveled to Simon Fraser University on Saturday afternoon for the first of three exhibition games. They handled the overmatched Clan 87-62 and Thomasson and Mekel took the opportunity to show what they can do in their Shocker debuts of a sort.

"They were a different team than we've probably ever played," WSU junior guard Matt Braeuer said, which was a nice way of saying the NAIA school didn't offer much of a challenge. "The first five minutes, we were kind of out of it. We kind of picked it up from there."

Thomasson, counted on to play big inside for the Shockers this season, made 5 of 7 shots and scored 11 points with a blocked shot and a steal. He was credited with one rebound, but the stat sheet is not trustworthy -- it lists freshman Chris Brown, who did not play, with a shot attempt. Mekel, a freshman guard from Israel, made 3 of 6 shots for nine points and handed out four assists.

"It was a lot of fun," Thomasson said. "It's been almost two years since I played in a game. It feels really good to get back out there."

Karon Bradley's left ankle was the only thing that did not feel good. Someone landed on it, spraining it badly. He is likely done for the weekend. He spent most of the second half with a bag of ice taped to the ankle.

The game went like this: The Clan bored the Shockers to start, so the Shockers gave up some easy baskets, including a lob for a dunk by Greg Wallis. About that time, WSU coach Mark Turgeon loudly demanded more defense. When the Shockers got serious, Simon Fraser stopped scoring and the game became a rout late in the first half.

"We started out a little slow, defensively -- they had about 21 points in the first seven minutes," Turgeon said. "Then I thought we really guarded until about the three-minute mark of the second half."

Turgeon said Bradley and Thomasson got the defense going when they checked in early in the game. Bradley's aggressive defense is no surprise; Thomasson will also help with his quickness and leaping ability. He does not have the height or weight of departed center Paul Miller; however, he can get to places Miller could not.

"I think he's going to be a really good defender for us," said WSU senior Kyle Wilson, who led WSU with 18 points. "He had a couple blocked shots, and I think he'll be able to do that for us."

Thomasson sprinted down court and twice Mekel rewarded him with nice passes on the break for baskets. He also scored in the lane after spinning by his defender and drew a foul. He knocked down a 13-foot jumper over a defender in the second half.

"I try to really run hard," Thomasson said. "I'm a little smaller than some of the post guys I'm going to play against, so that's an advantage I can have."

Mekel played point guard and shooting guard and showed skills at both. His four assists tied Wendell Preadom for the team lead. He made a three-pointer and scored on a quick baseline drive and layup.

He made some mistakes -- bad passes or passes not made -- but he left no doubt he is part of the plan.

"I know the coaches are asking a lot of him right now," Wilson said. "He might be a little confused sometimes, but I thought he did really well. Playing point guard is hard when you're a new guy on the team."

Turgeon played many different lineups by design, and because a foul-plagued game forced him to. He got good looks at other Shockers, such as sophomore center Ryan Bradley and Preadom, who still have something to prove.

Bradley, who played little last season, looked much more comfortable. He scored seven points, going 5 of 7 from the line, and grabbed four rebounds. Preadom made a long jumper off a pass from Bradley, the kind of shot he did not make as a freshman. He also made 4 of 6 free throws.

The Shocker starters coasted early and then took charge with fierce defense midway through the first half. Turgeon rested them a lot in the second half, both to give others time and to save them for another game Saturday night.

Braeuer scored 15 points, making 5 of 9 shots, and handed out three assists with four steals. P.J. Couisnard blocked a layup attempt in the first half to supply one of the game's most spectacular plays. He scored eight points and had two blocks and four steals.

"It was fun to be out there playing," Wilson said. "I didn't know what to expect. Usually we do big long scouting reports coming into games. We had nothing on these guys. I think that's why we started a little slow. We didn't have the 'game' feel yet. Once we started playing together, and in the rhythm of the game, I think we played pretty well."

WSU 92, Trinity Western 63 _ The Shockers did what they could with a mess of a game. The Spartans ran and pressed and shot three-pointers the entire game. WSU's big guys chased little guys.

Ugly, but WSU got its offense under control enough to blow the game open in the first half.

By the end, the Shockers were fatigued and staring at another game early this morning.

None of that bothered senior forward Kyle Wilson, who hit all four his three-pointers and led WSU with 20 points. P.J. Couisnard added 16 and Matt Braeuer scored 13.

WSU outrebounded the smaller Spartans 41-31 and held them to 36.1 percent shooting. WSU made 8 of 17 threes, but only 10 of 21 free throws.

WSU guard Sean Ogirri grabbed seven rebounds. He was uncharacteristically cold all day from three-point range. Ogirri went 2 for 11 in the two games.