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Wichita State routs Northern Colorado

Dec 9, 2012 - 7:05 AM Wichita, KS (Sports Network) - Cleanthony Early posted 16 points as No. 24 Wichita State took an 80-54 win over Northern Colorado.

Nick Wiggins gave 14 points and Demetric Williams scored 12 points for the Shockers (9-0), who have won all but two of their games by double-digits.

"At the end of the day, we know what kind of coach that we got and we know that every day he is going to try and bring the best out of us," said Williams.

Derrick Barden had a game-high 19 points and Emmanuel Addo gave 10 points for the Bears (1-6), who have dropped six straight after opening the season with a win.

Wichita State scored 14 of the first 16 points in this game and never trailed. A layup from Early made it a 14-2 game five minutes in.

A 10-0 run later in the first half saw the Shockers take a 20-point lead as Williams capped the run with a layup for a 33-13 advantage with 4 1/2 minutes left in the first half.

Wichita State took a 38-19 lead into the break, but six straight points from Northern Colorado early in the second half saw the team cut the deficit to 15 points.

The Bears couldn't get any closer than that, though, as the Shockers were able to hold them at arm's length the rest of the way.

"This is a really good team and I'm really proud of our team and the way they battled," Northern Colorado coach B.J. Hill said. "I feel so much better right now about our team than I did three days ago. It's a huge difference."

Game Notes

Wichita State now leads the series, 2-1, but this was the first game played since the 1939-40 season ... The Shockers shot 55.6 percent from the floor, while Northern Colorado hit 42.3 percent of its attempts.