NCAA News Wire
Wichita State 74, Indiana State 57
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
WICHITA, Kan. — Wichita State won its 30th straight home game and stayed tied atop the Missouri Valley Conference with a 74-57 win over Indiana State on Wednesday night at Koch Arena.
The 15th-ranked Shockers (22-3, 12-1 MVC) led 38-24 at halftime before a slow start to the second half allowed the Sycamores cut the lead to 10 points at 44-34. Wichita State responded with an 8-1 run to build a 52-35 lead.
Wichita State held Indiana State to 3-of-10 shooting from 3-point range, limiting the Valley’s most prolific outside shooting team to less than half its usual total. The Shockers made 6 of 15 3-pointers.
Junior guard Fred VanVleet scored 21 points, including 14 in the first half, for Wichita State. Senior forward Darius Carter added 17 points and seven rebounds.
Wichita State forced 14 turnovers and scored 17 points off those mistakes.
Junior guard Devonte Brown led Indiana State (12-13, 8-5) with 10 points.
The Sycamores remained alone in third place in the MVC after fourth-place Illinois State lost at No. 13 Northern Iowa.
Wichita senior guard Tekele Cotton started the decisive second-half run with a 3-pointer that bounced high off the rim and dropped back through for a 47-34 lead. VanVleet scored to make it 49-35.
After he missed a foul shot, Carter rebounded. He scored on a lob from VanVleet to make it 52-35 and force an Indiana State timeout with 12:10 remaining.
Wichita State got the crowd into the game with an 11-0 run started by Cotton’s layup. VanVleet stripped Brown near half court and drove for a layup to make it 14-all. Junior forward Evan Wessel’s 3-pointer gave the Shockers a lead.
Another Indiana State turnover led to a basket by Carter and a 21-14 Shockers lead.
Wichita State’s press continued to rattle the Sycamores and turn the game into a full-court affair. That benefited the smaller Shockers, who created turnovers and easy baskets.
Wichita State scored 10 points off nine Indiana State turnovers in the first half. The Shockers grabbed nine offensive rebounds and scored nine second-chance points before the break.
Freshman forward Shaq Morris started another burst with a dunk for a 25-16 lead. VanVleet, who finished the first half with 14 points, sank two 3-pointers to make it 35-20, and Wichita State led 38-24 at the break.
Wichita State shot 46.9 percent from the field in the first half and held Indiana State to 37.5 percent shooting.
NOTES: Wichita State freshman F Zach Brown missed his second game due to a concussion … Shockers junior G Ron Baker is one of 20 players on the late-season watch list for the Wooden Award … Wichita State junior guard Ron Baker scored five points, his first game in single digits since he had nine against George Washington in December. … Wichita State freshman F Zach Brown missed his second game with a concussion. … G Fred VanVleet grabbed three steals to give him 150 for his career and move into fourth place in Wichita State history. He had four assists to give him 419 for his career , one behind third-place Bob Trogele.
