Box Score The Wichita State men's basketball team closed out non-conference play and moved to 7-4 on the season with a 61-52 win over Alabama-Birmingham (8-5) Saturday night inside Charles Koch Arena.

The Shockers were led by Phil Thomasson's 15 points and Matt Braeuer's 12 points. Thomasson also led the team in rebounds with a season-high seven boards.

UAB was paced by the 23 points of Robert Vaden. No other Blazer reached double-figures.

The opening minutes of the game saw a defensive struggle with neither team able to hit a shot. Gal Mekel finally put WSU on the scoreboard at the 17:41 mark with an old-fashioned three-point play. After falling behind 12-9, the Shockers went on a 13-0 run capped by an alley-oop dunk by Thomasson from Braeuer for a 22-12 lead with 9:40 to play in the half.

Vaden connected from behind the arc to pull the Blazers within four, 26-22, with 4:26 left in the half. UAB would get no closer, as the Shockers went on a 7-0 run to end the half. Mekel found Braeuer for a back-door layup to give WSU a 33-22 halftime advantage.

Despite early foul trouble in the second half WSU extended its lead to 16, 49-33, with back-to-back baskets from Thomasson. UAB would not go away as it quickly rattled off a 15-2 run using great defense pressure to hold the Shockers scoreless for four minutes. Vaden capped off the run with back-to-back three-pointers to pull within three, 51-48, with 4:35 to play.

Just as Vaden was starting to heat up, he was called for his fifth foul with 3:11 to play on a charge in the lane. A P.J. Couisnard three-pointer from the top of the key pushed the lead back up to eight, 56-48, with 2:03 remaining. From there, WSU salted the game away at the free-throw line to come away with the 61-52 win.

“I want to thank the fans that made it tonight,” said head coach Gregg Marshall. “They certainly helped us in the end without a doubt, like they always do. I had no idea that many Shocker fans would show up for this game. It was great to see.”

“We had a 16 point lead with 10 to go,” said Thomasson. “That's a pretty good buffer. They (UAB) cut it really close. During the time out we said, ?We're not going to fold, we're not going to let them beat us.' And we made the plays we had to make to win.”

WSU outrebounded its opponent for the 10th time in 11games by beating UAB on the glass, 38-33. The Shocker defense forced 17 turnovers and held the Blazers to just 36 percent shooting. Mekel dished-out a career-high seven assists as the Shockers combined for 15 assists while UAB managed just seven.

The Shockers open Missouri Valley Conference play on Sat., Dec. 29 as they host Drake. The Bulldogs are 9-1 with their only loss coming on the road to then-ranked St. Mary's (Calif.). Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m.

 

--Wichita State--