Ricky Council scored a game-high 19 points to spark Wichita State to a 64-58 win over South Alabama on Saturday afternoon at Charles Koch Arena.

Down 56-54 with 4:53 remaining, the Shockers finished the game on a 10-2 run to improve to a 2-0.

"Those guys never put their heads down," head coach Isaac Brown said. "They came together as a team. That shows we have a lot of high-character guys and they all wanted nothing but the win."

Starting in place of an under-the-weather Tyson Etienne, Council made the most of his second career start, clocking a career-high 30 minutes. He made 7-of-11 shots, including 3-of-4 from deep, and pulled down eight rebounds.

"Ricky was great," Brown said. "He went in and played big minutes and was able to score some big baskets."

Qua Grant added 13 points off the bench and converted 2-of-4 from distance.

Morris Udeze grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds.

Dexter Dennis stuffed the stat-sheet with seven points, eight rebounds, three blocks and three steals.

The Shockers struggled from the field for a second-straight game, hitting just 37.3 percent but made a respectable 8-of-26 from three (.308).

Javon Franklin tallied a double-double for South Alabama (1-1), with 18 points and 12 boards. The Jaguars used just eight players – five of them transfers from Power 5 schools. They shot 44.4 percent from the field but were cold from beyond the arc (3-of-16, .188).

The Shockers won the rebounding battle, 39-34, and limited USA to just five offensive rebounds.

The win was special for Brown, who spent five seasons as an assistant at South Alabama (2002-07).

WSU's 2-0 start includes two games that were decided in the final minute. The Shockers downed Jacksonville State in Tuesday's opener, 60-57, on Etienne's last-second three-pointer.

"Those games help you get into conference – being able to win close games," Brown noted. "Because in conference you're not going to be able to blow teams out. You've got to operate down the stretch. These two games will us in the long run."

UP NEXT:
WSU welcomes another first-time foe, Tarleton State, on Tuesday evening (7 p.m. CT, ESPN+). Coach Billy Gillispie's Texans are 0-2 but have played in road losses at Stanford and Kansas.