by WICHITA, Kan.- In front of a raucous 10,506, the Wichita State men’s basketball team defeated UNI, 74-60, to claim the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship Saturday afternoon at Charles Koch Arena.
Five Shockers scored in double-figures with Ron Baker’s (Citizen Band Potawatomi) 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting leading the way. Fred VanVleet added 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds, while Darius Carter, Evan Wessel and Tekele Cotton each poured-in 11.
The Wichita State offense started off hot, as Baker and VanVleet connected on back-to-back threes to make the score 6-3 at the 18:31 mark. Darius Carter’s layup and baseline jumper on consecutive possessions put the score at 10-5 with a little less than 17 minutes to go in the half.
The Panthers would not fold however, scoring five-consecutive points to tie the game at 15 going into the second media timeout. A UNI three mid-way through the half gave UNI its first lead, 18-16.
Tekele Cotton then ignited a 9-0 run for the Shockers, driving the length of the floor for a layup. Zach Brown then connected on a three and Baker and Bush Wamukota hit back-to-back two-point buckets to give Wichita State a 25-20 lead with 6:30 remaining in the first half.
The Shockers used a barrage of three’s, including a deep one from Cotton as the shot clock expired to take a 36-26 advantage with a minute and a half remaining in the first 20 minutes.
Wichita State ended the half on an 8-0 run, taking a 38-26 advantage into the locker room. Wichita State shot 14-for-26 (.538) from the field during the first 20 minutes, including 7-of-12 (.583) from three-point land. They were led in scoring by Baker and VanVleet, who scored eight points apiece. The Shocker defense forced eight turnovers and out-rebounded the Panthers, 12-11.
Baker scored the first five points of the second half for Wichita State. His three at the 18:45 mark put the score at 43-27. Three minutes later, VanVleet’s crossover pull-up jumper stretched the Wichita State lead to 49-33.
UNI wouldn’t fold however and mid-way through the second half, connected on four-straight three-pointers to pull within four, 53-49.
Wichita State answered with three’s of its own, including two big ones from Wessel to go back up double digits, 66-56, with 4:28 remaining in the game. A Carter layup 20 seconds later off a VanVleet no-look pass put the Shocker lead at 68-56 and force a UNI timeout.
The Shockers cruised the rest of the way to win 74-60 and cement their second-straight MVC regular-season championship.
Wichita State will now head to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in St. Louis, March 5-8.
