The Wichita State men's basketball team moved to 2-0 in exhibition play with an 80-38 win over Ft. Hays St., Monday night inside Charles Koch Arena.
Senior Karon Bradley led four Shockers in double-figures with a game-high 17 points. Ryan Martin connected for 13 points while Phil Thomasson and Matt Braeuer scored 11 and 10, respectively. John Rogers was the only Tiger in double-figures, finishing with 11 points.
After a slow start in the early minutes the Shockers took off on a 12-2 run in which four different players scored. Coming off the bench, Thomasson scored nine points in the first nine minutes to help give the Shockers a 19-7 lead. A three-pointer by Kevin Wagstaff pulled the Tigers within six, 20-14, with 8:47 to go in the half. Braeuer answered with a three-pointer of his own, starting a 15-4 run that gave the Shockers a 15 point lead, their biggest of the half. WSU headed to the locker room with a 37-22 lead at halftime.
The Shockers heated up in the second half, using defensive pressure and unselfish play as fuel for the fire. Bradley ripped the ball from an unsuspecting Wagstaff and finished the play at the other end with a layup, causing FHSU to call a quick timeout and brought a sold-out crowd to its feet.
WSU kept the defensive pressure on and held the Tigers scoreless for nearly eight minutes early in the second half. During that span, the Shockers went on a 13-0 run which included a behind-the-back pass from freshman Gal Mekel that led to an easy basket for Martin. Mekel stole a pass from Tim Peintner and fed fellow freshman Arbry Butler for a dunk, giving WSU a 72-33 lead with 5:59 to play.
The Shockers cruised the rest of the way, and never let up defensively, leading to an 80-38 win.
“I thought our effort was great defensively,” head coach Mark Turgeon said. “We had our offense going a little bit in the second half, just missed a few lay ups and a few free throws but besides that I thought our execution was really good.”
WSU forced 23 turnovers and held the Tigers to just 28 percent shooting in the second half, 30 percent for the game. The Shockers shared the ball well, piling up 18 assists. WSU also hit the glass and pulled down 44 rebounds, 17 of which were offensive rebounds. Martin led the team with eight rebounds.
“The last couple days in practice we really started playing together,” said Bradley. “That's what Shocker basketball is about: moving the ball around, going to the offensive glass, just working together and we showed that tonight.”
WSU will host Rockhurst for its regular season opener on Sat., Nov. 11 at 7 p.m.
