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Wichita State has no problem with Loyola Marymount

Dec 23, 2014 - 8:47 AM Honolulu, HI (SportsNetwork.com) - Darius Carter and Tekele Cotton both scored 12 points in a balanced effort for No. 11 Wichita State, which disposed of Loyola Marymount 80-53 in the first round of the Diamond Head Classic.

Ron Baker had 11 points and Zach Brown added 10 off the bench for Wichita State (9-1), which got points from 13 different players.

The Shockers will face Hawaii, which defeated Nebraska in its first-round contest.

Evan Payne scored a game-high 15 points, which included a pair of highlight reel dunks, and Ayodeji Egbeyemi dropped 13 for Loyola Marymount (3-7).

"Bottom line it came down to two things that have been haunting us. Turnovers. We've got to solve this over time. It comes down to decision making. And the second is rebounding. Our bigs can and will be better," Lions head coach Mike Dunlap said.

Bush Wamukota and Cotton both scored five points during Wichita State's 14-0 run that gave the Shockers a 19-4 lead early on.

The Lions got within 24-16 on a pair of Payne free throws at 6:59, but Carter's tip-in gave Wichita State another double-digit lead, which it held for the rest of the game.

Fred VanVleet beat the halftime buzzer with a corner 3, Baker opened the second half with a pair of baskets and Carter's second triple of the season made it 45-25.

The 3-pointer was part of another 14-0 flurry, which Cotton capped with a jumper five minutes into the second half. The Shockers led comfortably until the game's conclusion.

Game Notes

Wichita State has won five straight games since its lone loss of the season against Utah ... Wichita St. has won 41 of its last 42 games against unranked non-conference foes ... The Shockers had 15 assists compared to five for LMU.