Springfield, Mo.- Wichita State (8-7, 1-3) fell, 71-47, to Missouri State (9-7, 2-2) on Tuesday night in Springfield, Mo.

Phillip Thomasson and Gal Mekel led the Shockers with 11 points a piece.  Thomasson also brought down the most rebounds with eight.

Four Bears ended in double-digits with Dale Lamberth leading the charge with 27 points, helped by 6-9 three-point shooting.  Spencer Laurie, Deven Mitchell and Justin Fuehrmeyer followed with 13, 11 and 10 points, respectively.  Mitchell and Chris Cooks each collected eight rebounds.

Missouri State only out-rebounded Wichita State by one, but the Shockers only picked up nine second chance points on 18 offensive rebounds.  Poor all-around shooting, plagued WSU, as the Shockers shot 28.1 percent on the night and went 12-20 from the free-throw line.  MSU went off for 45.5 percent shooting and was a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe.

The Bears started strong and quickly built a 13-0 lead within the first five minutes of play. During that stretch, P.J. Couisnard missed a pair of free throws and the Shockers had trouble getting a shot to go from both the inside and out.

Thomasson finally tapped one in at the 14:42 mark to put WSU on the board.  Freshman Graham Hatch hit a three, then the Shockers went 5-6 from the free-throw line to cut the Bears' lead to eight.

Wichita State hit a drought and MSU pushed it to 29-10 with an 11-0 run, capped by Lambert completing a three-point play and then sinking a shot from behind the arc.  A 10-2 WSU run cut MSU's lead to 12, but the Bears hit two free throws and headed into halftime up, 36-22.

Missouri State extended its lead to 20 points four minutes into the second half, and led by as many as 27, three times late into the contest.

Wichita State returns home to host Creighton on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 7:05 p.m.  It's a Shocker double-header as the women's team plays at home at 1 p.m. earlier in the day.  The men's game will be broadcast on Kansas Now 22 and through KNSS 1330 or www.shockerradio.com.

-Wichita State-