Wichita State 63 - 53 Indiana State
Final
  for this game

No. 11 Wichita State downs Indiana State

Feb 26, 2015 - 3:54 AM Terre Haute, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - Darius Carter posted 20 points and 11 rebounds as No. 11 Wichita State cruised past Indiana State, 63-53.

Fred VanVleet totaled 15 points, five assists and four boards for the Shockers (26-3, 16-1 MWC), who received 12 points and six rebounds from Tekele Cotton and temporarily moved a half-game ahead of Northern Iowa for the top spot in the conference.

The outcome of the UNI-Evansville contest has yet to be resolved.

Khristian Smith led the way with 20 points and seven boards for the Sycamores (14-15, 10-7). Tre Bennett contributed 10 points in a losing cause.

Wichita State scored the first nine points in the second half, stretching a four-point lead to 37-24 thanks to a Carter jumper.

Smith's shot from long distance whittled that deficit down to 37-32 and when Brenton Scott split a pair from the line, Indiana State was as close as 45-42 just before the midway point.

Carter and Shaquille Morris countered Sycamore buckets to keep the hosts at bay, but Jake Kitchell's put-back closed the gap to 49-48 with 5:57 to go.

Yet Carter and Ron Baker struck back for WSU, which led 53-48, and VanVleet answered a Justin Gant free throw for a six-point edge. Carter extended the margin to 58-49 with 1:58 to play after his slam and a resulting free throw.

Indiana State had little in the way of a comeback from there.

ISU rolled out to an 11-4 lead in the first six-plus minutes, then was up 15-9 on two free throws by T.J. Bell before Wichita State reeled off the next 10 points to go up by four. Carter and Cotton accounted for all the offense, with the latter hitting a layup to make it 19-15.

Carter's tip-in gave the Shockers a 28-21 lead, but Bennett countered from long distance to get Indiana State within four at the break.

Game Notes

Indiana State shot 34 percent for the game, including 7-of-25 (28 percent) in the first half ... Wichita State owned a 40-33 edge on the glass and a 30-12 margin in the paint ... The Shockers complete the regular season against Northern Iowa on Saturday afternoon, and the Sycamores also finish up three days from now at Bradley.






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