Evansville, Ind.- Wichita State (9-14, 2-10 MVC) could not hold on to an 11-point lead, as the Evansville Purple Aces (7-15, 2-10 MVC) defeated the Shockers, 64-56, Wednesday night in Evansville, Ind.

Wichita State's Matt Braeuer made his return Wednesday night after five and a half weeks of watching from the sidelines. Braeuer has been out of action since he suffered a concussion on Dec. 29. Braeuer had nine points in just 12 minutes off the bench.

Phil Thomasson led the Shockers with 10 points and collected four rebounds. Along with Braeuer, P.J. Couisnard and J.T. Durley added nine points each. Ramon Clemente led defensively with eight rebounds, while Gal Mekel brought down seven and Couisnard scooped up six.

Evansville's offensive efforts were powered by Shy Ely, Jason Holsinger and Nate Garner. The three players combined for 43 of the teams' 64 points. Ely had a game-high 18, while Holsinger added 14 and Garner contributed 11. Ely, Garner and Kavon Lacey brought down six rebounds a piece.

The Purple Aces missed 14 of their first 15 shots, allowing the Shockers to cruise to a 15-3 lead at the 12:58 mark.  A 10-3 run by Evansville cut the lead to five, but Wichita State extended it back to 11 on a Braeuer three right before the buzzer. 

WSU held Evansville to 20 total points and 20 percent shooting in the first half.  The Purple Aces turned things around in the second half, scoring 44 points and shooting 40 percent.  The Shockers shot a hot 53.3 percent in the first half, but cooled off for a 34.6 percent in the second.  WSU also went 4-8 from behind the arc and 11-13 from the free throw line in the first, but was 2-7 on threes and 5-11 from the charity stripe in the second.

The Aces stayed within striking distance early in the second half, and then went on a 23-2 run midway through the second half, turning a 42-35 Wichita State lead into a 58-44 Evansville lead.  The first nine points in that run included one three-pointer by Ely and two by Holsinger.  Garner chipped in six points and Ely hit his second three-pointer as Evansville made up for all of its first half woes with a strong second half, defeating the Shockers 64-56.

Wichita State returns home to face Indiana State on Saturday, Feb. 9, at 7:05 p.m. inside Charles Koch Arena.