Wichita State 84, Southern Illinois 62

[February 18, 2015]  SportsDirect Inc.
 
 No. 13 Wichita State 84, Southern Illinois 62: Freshman Shaquille Morris tallied a season-high 17 points and matched another personal best with seven rebounds as the visiting Shockers completed their fourth regular-season sweep of the Salukis in six years.

Ron Baker was one of four players to hit two 3-pointers and joined Fred VanVleet with 13 points for Wichita State (24-3, 14-1 Missouri Valley), which finished 10-of-19 beyond the arc. Tekele Cotton contributed 10 points and five assists as the Shockers shot a season-best 58.3 percent from the field.

Freshman Deion Lavender led the way with 15 points for Southern Illinois (10-18, 3-12), which has dropped seven of eight and fell into sole possession of last place in the conference. Anthony Beane - the MVC's third-leading scorer - went 4-of-12 from the floor to finish with 14 points while Jordan Caroline had 10 to round out the Salukis' double-digit scorers.

Baker and Caroline exchanged buckets on each team's first possession before Wichita State ran off 12 consecutive points, highlighted by a three-point play by Baker. Cotton drained his second 3-pointer in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the game to cap a stretch in which the Shockers made their first seven shots and Morris scored six straight points midway through the first half to stop a 9-2 run by Southern Illinois after the Salukis had closed within six.

Southern Illinois trailed 34-26 with just over four minutes left before Baker supplied five points during a 7-0 spurt and Wichita State did not allow its lead to slip below 11 points thereafter. Morris put the game away early after the break as his three-point play ignited a 12-2 surge that increased the Shockers' bulge to 21 and Wichita State pushed the margin out to 27 points twice midway through the second half.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Wichita State improved to a Division I-best 47-10 on the road since 2010-11. ... Southern Illinois G Jalen Pendleton left the game with concussion-like symptoms and did not return. ... VanVleet, who played through a sore right ankle, recorded two steals to move into a tie with Jamar Howard (153) for third place in Shockers' history.

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