Wichita State Athletics

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall is now tied with Ralph Miller for all-time coaching wins in program history, as the Shockers topped Evansville 78-65. Marshall and Miller now have 220 career coaching wins each at WSU, but Marshall has reached the mark five seasons sooner than Miller did.

Fred VanVleet set a new career high in points, dropping 32 points in the game. VanVleet also had five rebounds, and went a perfect 15-15 from the free throw line. His previous best was 29.

Ron Baker had nine points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor, and had five rebounds. Conner Frankamp added ten points.

Egidijus Mockevicius had a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. D.J. Balentine added 18 points, 15 of them coming in the second half.

Strong defense and some sloppy offense was the story of both teams in the first half. The teams combined for 22 turnovers and fouls, and went 3-of-14 shooting from three-point range. WSU blocked eight shots in the half, three by Anton Grady and Zach Brown each. The Shockers’ defense held Balentine, the Valley’s leading scorer, to only three points in the half, all coming from the free throw line.

The Shockers outrebounded Evansville 43-35, 11 coming from the offensive glass. Both teams shot under 40% from the floor, and had 33 combined turnovers. WSU’s depth continues to shine, as the bench scored 27 points. The Shockers went 24-of-27 (89%) from the free throw line.

Wichita State has won 11 games in a row, and improve to 16-5 overall (10-0 in MVC play).