by By Tyler Jones @TylerJonesLive
ST. LOUIS- Since the beginning of the week, everyone had imagined a championship final in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament between Wichita State and Northern Iowa. In order to make that happen though, Wichita State needed to winner their semi-final matchup, while Illinois State had different plans for the Shockers.
In the first half, Wichita State dominated every statistic imaginable. The Shockers led Illinois State in rebounding, turnovers, assists, field goal percentage and steals, but were only leading by just eight points at the break, up 30-22.
Ron Baker (Citizen Band Potawatomi) led Wichita State in scoring in the first with 13 points. Within the first 10 minutes of the half, Baker had 9 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 dunks. Behind Baker in scoring in the first was Fred Vanvleet with 6 points and Shaquille Morris with 4 points.
Illinois State stayed alive in the first with 9 points from Daishon Knight, 6 points from DeVaug Akoon-Purcell and 5 points from Paris Lee. Illinois State’s bench combined for no points in the half. The Redbirds shot a combined 32.1% in the first.
After a poor first half, the second was a different story for Illinois State. Illinois State quickly erased the eight point deficit to take their first lead since the 17:44 mark of the first half, by going on 14-0 run early in the second half.
With 3:10 to go, the two teams were all tied at 56 all. Down the stretch, Illinois State ended the game with one three and going 6/6 from the free throw line. This was enough to hold of Wichita State, to pull off the upset. Illinois State defeated Wichita State by a final score of 65-62.
Illinois State relied on the late-game heroics of Daishon Knight, as he had 14 points in the second half and ended the night with 25 points. Following Knight in scoring was Reggie Lynch with 11 points and DeVaug Akoon-Purcell with 10 points.
The Shockers ended the game leading almost every statistic, but gave up a field goal percentage of 63.2% to Illinois State in the second. Wichita State’s Ron Baker finished with 13 points and was held scoreless in the second half. Baker accredited that to say, “They put a lot of pressure on our guards.” Fred Vanvleet led the Shockers in scoring with 19 points, followed by 12 points from Tekele Cotton.
Illinois State Head Coach Dan Muller after the game said, “Couldn’t be more proud of our guys. It kinda just came down to leaving it all on the court.”
Although Wichita State will not win the Missouri Valley Tournament, the team is pretty well settled into the big dance. Wichita State Coach Gregg Marshall postgame said, “We know we’re going to be in the NCAA Tournament.” The loss could potentially provide motivation for the team though according to Fred VanVleet, “It’s not going to leave our minds for awhile.”
With the win, Illinois State advances to the championship to take on the winner of Northen Iowa/Loyola. Despite beating the nationally-ranked No. 8 team, Center Reggie Lynch is not satisfied, “We’re not trying to win against Wichita, we’re trying to win the whole tournament.”
