No. 24 Wichita State (23-4, 14-2) used 11 three-pointers and a double-double from Garrett Stutz to turn back visiting Missouri State (16-12, 9-7) Wednesday in Missouri Valley Conference play.
Stutz scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds to lift the Shockers to a fifth straight win clinch a share of the MVC regular-season title.
MSU got 17 points from Anthony Downing, 14 from Caleb Patterson and 10 by Kyle Weems.
After the Bears went into halftime trailing just 34-32, the second half started with a series of runs. First, the Shockers reeled off seven unanswered points to begin the period , sparked by a Stutz dunk and a three-pointer by Toure Murry that extend WSU’s two-point lead to 41-32 just over 90 seconds into the period.
The Bears responded with a 7-0 run of their own to climb back within 41-39 after a jumper by Patterson, a three by Weems, and a jumper by Isaiah Rhine over the next three-and-a-half minutes.
But WSU kept the pressure on and reeled off eight straight from there, taking less than two minutes to knock down a pair of threes and a layup to make it 49-39 with 12:45 to play.
WSU took its biggest lead of the game after David Kyles knocked down a three and then responded moments later with a layup off a press and steal to make it a 56-42 contest at the 10:17 mark.
The Shockers kept full-court pressure for the remainder of the contest to squelch and potential Bears’ comeback, and WSU handed the Bears a 15-point defeat, their second-worst of the season.
MSU finished 25-for-64 (.391) from the field and 7-for-15 (.467) from three. The Bears got to the free throw line just twice, making one, and were out-rebounded 30-28.
MSU returns to JQH Arena on Saturday at 4 p.m. to take on Old Dominion (17-11) in the annual BracketBusters event. Story courtesy of Missouri State athletics.
