Wichita State overpowers Missouri State 78-62 (+videos)

On Wichita State’s scale of JQH Arena comebacks, this one barely registers.

The Shockers trailed Missouri State by 11 points early in Wednesday’s game. Thanks to a pronounced rebounding edge, things never got out of control and the Shockers regained control by halftime on their way to a 78-62 victory.

That faint echo of the 2014 game, in which WSU trailed by 19 in the second half before winning in overtime, stayed faint.

“I wasn’t frustrated; we just didn’t come out and play well,” WSU guard Fred VanVleet said. “We didn’t answer the call early, but we turned it around.”

WSU (11-5, 5-0 Missouri Valley Conference) led 37-36 at halftime after grabbing 13 offensive rebounds and scoring 30 points in the lane. It opened the second half with an 11-0 run and didn’t allow the Bears (6-11, 2-3) to make a basket until 11:49 remained in the game.

Freshman Markis McDuffie made 8 of 9 shots and set season-highs with 16 points and nine rebounds off the bench for WSU. Conner Frankamp made 4 of 8 three-pointers to add 14 points and match his Shocker high. Ron Baker also scored 14 points and Fred VanVleet handed out eight assists.

WSU outscored MSU 46-14 in the lane. With McDuffie finding holes in MSU’s zone defense for layups and Frankamp shooting over the defense, WSU’s bench outscored MSU’s reserves 45-8.

“I don’t think we came out fully ready to play, but we also missed some wide-open shots that we normally knock down,” Frankamp said.

Dequon Miller led MSU with 17 points. The Bears outscored WSU 26-5 at the foul line. They failed to take full advantage of the whistles, however, missing 15 free throws.

The Shockers defeated Missouri State for the 11th straight time, its longest streak in the 68-game series.

“In the second half, we did a better job of playing without fouling, even though we fouled a ton,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said. “And respecting our opponent. Those guys have won a couple games and they’re playing well with a very young and inexperienced team.”

WSU outrebounded MSU 49-29, grabbing 17 offensive rebounds. The Shockers shot 48 percent (32 of 67) from the field after missing 10 of their first 12 shots. They made 7 of 14 threes in the second half after making 2 of 14 in the first.

The Bears shot 33 percent from the field, 15 of 46.

The Shockers started the second half on an 11-0 run to build a 48-36 lead. McDuffie scored the first two baskets, one coming on a fast-break dunk after VanVleet ripped the ball from Miller. A three-pointer by Zach Brown made it 46-36. VanVleet dribbled through the Bears zone for a bank shot and a 12-point lead.

“They came out in the second half and put it on us,” Miller said. “We couldn’t get no shots to fall.”

MSU didn’t score until Chris Kendrix made two foul shots with 14:50 remaining in the game, cutting WSU’s lead to 48-38.

The Shockers went right back to work, with Baker finding Frankamp open against the retreating defense for a long three-pointer and a 51-38 lead.

The Bears missed their first 10 shots of the second half, a streak broken by Miller’s jump shot with 11:49 to play.

The Shockers fell behind 15-4 after a series of bad shots, bad passes and step-slow defense. WSU missed 14 of its first 18 shots, nine of 10 from three-point range.

Shaq Morris played only five minutes in the first half, but he rallied WSU with two important hustles plays. His dunk of a missed shot cut MSU’s lead to 15-6. Then he deflected a pass near the three-point line, a turnover that resulted in a three-pointer by Brown that made it 15-9.

The Bears pushed their lead to 22-13 on Obediah Church’s backdoor dunk on a ball-watching Rashard Kelly.

Then two bad shots by MSU turned the momentum.

Miller forced a three-pointer and Baker took advantage of the scramble by passing ahead to Kelly for a dunk. After an airball by Church, WSU again sped up court and Frankamp’s layyup made it 22-20 and forced a Bears timeout with 5:59 to play.

WSU took a 32-31 lead on a layup by McDuffie, who scored 12 points in the first half. WSU lead 37-36 at halftime after making 13 of their final 21 shots. WSU grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and scored eight second-chance points. Thirty of their first-half points came in the lane.

This story was originally published January 13, 2016 at 10:10 PM with the headline "Wichita State overpowers Missouri State 78-62 (+videos)."