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No. 14 Wichita State uses big second half to beat Tulsa

Nov 21, 2013 - 5:29 AM Tulsa, OK (SportsNetwork.com) - Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker led the way with 21 points apiece as the No. 14 Wichita State Shockers defeated the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, 77-54, on Wednesday night.

Cleanthony Early contributed 12 points and nine rebounds, while Chadrack Lufile pulled down a game-high 10 boards as Wichita State (5-0) continued its winning ways in its first road game of the season.

"We're accepting the challenge and just trying to stay in hunting mode. We're just trying to stay in hunting mode and not be the one getting hunted," said VanVleet on his team's attitude.

Pat Swilling Jr. led Tulsa (0-3) with 12 points and James Woodard added eight points with nine rebounds as Tulsa's attempt at the upset came up short due to a dominant second half from the Shockers.

"We got beat. We need to get better. There are no moral victories. Moral victories don't make you better. We want to have a second half similar to our first half. That is the message to our guys. We have to continue to fight and get better and execute," said Tulsa head coach Danny Manning.

The two teams were tied at 31 at the break, but Wichita State locked down on defense in the second stanza, outscoring Tulsa, 46-23.

Wichita State went on a 10-0 run midway through the second half. VanVleet made a layup at 8:42 to give Wichita State a 59-48 lead forcing a Tulsa timeout.

The Shockers did not let up. After a Swilling 3-pointer at 5:45, Wichita State went on a 14-1 run to close out the game. Baker drained another shot from beyond the arc to increase the lead to 18 points with four minutes remaining.

With Wichita State leading early on, Rashad Ray found D'Andre Wright for an alley-oop to cut the Shockers lead to 8-7 at the 15:35 mark of the first.

Evan Wessel tied the game at 29 with 1:03 remaining in the first half and the Shockers went ahead with a jump shot from VanVleet, but Ray tied the game on a layup with five seconds to go in the half.

Game Notes

Tulsa has lost its last 21 regular-season games against ranked teams since an 88-68 win at then-No. 11 Tennessee on Dec. 23, 1999 ... Wichita State leads the series 63-60.