Ace Hunt
GoSycamores.com
WICHITA, Kan. -- Indiana State fell to No. 13/15 Wichita State on Wednesday evening in front of a sell-out crowd at Charles Koch Arena. The Shockers tallied a 74-57 victory to win for the 30th consecutive time at home.
The Sycamores fell to 12-13, 8-5 MVC while Wichita State improved to 22-3, 12-1 MVC. Indiana State still holds a one game lead over both Illinois State and Evansville for third place in the MVC standings.
Tre' Bennett scored 11 points to pace the Sycamores while Devonte Brown added 10.
Darius Carter opened the scoring in the game, but a jumper from Justin Gant less than a minute in tied the contest at 2. Consecutive lay-ups by Tekele Cotton stretched Wichita State's lead out to four points, but Tre' Bennett hit 3-pointers on back-to-back trips down the floor for the 10-8 lead. The Sycamore lead grew to 12-8 on a second chance bucket by T.J. Bell with 12:37 to go.
The Indiana State 8-0 run was answered by a Shaquille Morris jumper, but Kitchell had an open layup with 10:30 remaining for the 14-10 cushion. Khristian Smith was the next Sycamore to score as he hit a jumper to answer an 11-0 run and the Shockers lead was down to 21-16 with 6:35 to go.
The Shockers added six points in a row, but a Gant dunk at the 3:19 mark cut the Shocker cushion down to 27-18. Wichita State led by as many as 16 points in the first half, but a driving lay-up from Brenton Scott cut the lead down to 38-24 heading into the break. Bennett paced the Sycamores with six points at the half.
Brown scored first for the Sycamores with a 3-pointer at the 18:58 mark to get Indiana State within 11 points. A dunk by Darius Carter stretched the lead back out to 14 points, but he was whistled for a technical foul with 16:04 on the clock. Bennett hit 1-of-2 charity tosses and Gant then converted a conventional 3-point play to cut the Shocker advantage down to 42-32.
The two teams traded buckets as Scott hit a wild shot in the lane to answer a Shocker score and get the Sycamores within 44-34. Wichita State scored seven in a row to extend their cushion out to 52-35 and Indiana State called a timeout. Brown would hit a pair of free throws while Khristian Smith converted a lay-up and conventional 3-point play on consecutive trips down the floor but the Shockers scored as well and Wichita State led 57-42 mid-way through the second half.
Brown hit a pair of charity tosses after he was fouled in transition to get the Sycamores within 57-44, but Wichita State scored seven in a row over the next three minutes for the 64-44 cushion. Indiana State would go over 6:30 without a field goal until Brandon Murphy hit a lay-up with 3:27 to go to cut the Shocker lead down to 70-48.
Fred Van Vleet led the Shockers with 21 points.
Indiana State returns to action on Saturday, February 14, Valentine's Day, when they host Drake at 4:07 p.m. (ET) in a game that will be televised live on MVC TV as well as ESPN3.
