• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Wichita State routs Saint Louis

Dec 7, 2014 - 7:07 AM Wichita, KS (SportsNetwork.com) - Ron Baker scored 18 points to lead No. 8 Wichita State to an 81-52 drubbing of Saint Louis on Saturday.

Evan Wessel and Rauno Nurger each chipped in with 15 points for the Shockers (5-1), who responded from a 69-68 overtime loss to 25th-ranked Utah earlier in the week that snapped a 35-game regular-season winning streak.

"I thought we came out and we bounced back from a loss," said Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall. "The guys practiced hard for two days and we swallowed the bitter pill and we came out ready to play."

Wichita State shot 54 percent from the floor and had a 32-10 edge in the paint.

"They're an excellent team and their guards are superb," praised Saint Louis head coach Jim Crews.

The Billikens (5-3), meanwhile, lost their fifth straight game against a ranked opponent. Austin Gillmann led them with nine points off the bench.

The game was actually close in the early stages as Brett Jolly's 3-pointer just over six minutes into the contest cut Saint Louis' deficit to 14-10.

Wichita State then ripped off a 25-5 run to take control. Nurger started the flurry with a layup, Tekel Cotton and Fred VanVleet each chipped in with four points during the run and Ria'n Holland capped it with a basket to make it 39-15 with under four to play.

The Shockers led 45-25 at the half and the game started to get out of hand early in the second.

Baker opened the scoring with a three-point play, then Cotton's dunk pushed the margin to 58-25 with 16:46 remaining. The lead swelled to as many as 34.

Game Notes

Saint Louis shot 36 percent from the floor ... The Billikens' starting five scored a combined 11 points ... Cotton had seven points with seven assists ... The Shockers had a 41-20 rebounding advantage.