Wichita State 78, Southern Illinois 67

[February 12, 2014]  WICHITA, Kan. — No. 2 Wichita State 78, Southern Illinois 67: Ron Baker scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half and the host Shockers remained undefeated after rebuffing the upset-minded Salukis.

Cleanthony Early scored 18 points and was 11-for-12 from the free throw line as Wichita State (13-0 Missouri Valley Conference) became the first team to start 26-0 since Memphis in 2007-08. Tekele Cotton and Darius Carter added 12 points apiece while Nick Wiggins registered 10 for the Shockers.

Anthony Beane, the two-time reigning MVC Player of the Week, recorded 25 points and four steals for Southern Illinois (10-16, 6-7), which had its four-game win streak snapped. Desmar Jackson contributed 13 points and and a game-high seven rebounds before fouling out with 2:55 left and the Salukis trailing by six.

Southern Illinois led by as many as five before settling for a 33-32 lead at the break after Wichita State played without star guard Fred VanVleet for the final 7:44 and Baker the last 4:58 after picking up their second fouls. Wichita State took the lead for good 33 seconds later at 44-43 on Early's three-point play which sparked a 16-5 run.

The Salukis trimmed the deficit to 64-61 on Jackson's bucket with 4:19 remaining before Wiggins answered with a 3-pointer 32 seconds later. Baker scored five straight points on a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to stretch the Shockers' lead to 74-64 with 1:54 left as Wichita State scored 14 of the game's final 20 points.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Shockers, who are one of two undefeated teams in the country along with No. 1 Syracuse (23-0), have trailed nine times at the half this season. ... Wichita State, which entered the game ninth in the country in rebounding margin at plus-8.4, won the battle of the boards 32-29. ... Baker, the Shockers' second-leading scorer at 12.9 points per game, was 3-for-8 from 3-point range after going 2-for-15 in his previous four contests.

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