Box Score
WICHITA, Kan. - Ben Smith posted 11 of his Wichita State career-high 16 points in the second half to pace the Shockers in a 91-57 win against Evansville Wednesday at Charles Koch Arena.
A sellout crowd of 10,506 watched the junior transfer hit three second-half 3-pointers as the Shockers opened Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball play.
Joe Ragland, a junior transfer, also posted a Wichita State career-high 12 points in the win. J.T. Durley added 12 points, David Kyles had 11 points and Toure' Murry had 10 points and seven assists for the Shockers.
Wichita State won its fifth game in a row, improving to 10-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play. The Shockers shot 62.3 percent in the win.
Colt Ryan led the Evansville Purple Aces (6-5, 0-1) with 18 points. Evansville's Ken Harris led all players with seven rebounds.
Wednesday's win marked the 10th-straight time the Shockers beat Evansville at Charles Koch Arena.
Wichita State grabbed a quick 5-0 lead with a 3-pointer from Durley and layup from Murry. Another Murry layup and dunk by Kyles, all within the first three minutes of play, boosted the Shockers to a 9-2 lead.
Murry went on to pick up eight points in the first four minutes of the game as the Shockers held Evansville to one field goal through the first five minutes of play and built up a 15-2 lead.
The Shockers matched their biggest lead of the game with a three-point play from Gabe Blair with 12:40 left in the first half. A 3-pointer from Smith 23 seconds later gave Wichita State a 24-8 edge.
Ragland drove the lane and converted a layup with 9:14 left in the half to give the Shockers a 17-point winning margin. A dunk from Durley, assisted by Murry, gave Wichita State a 30-13 lead soon after.
Two free throws from Smith with 7:09 to go before halftime boosted the Shockers to a 19-point lead.
Twelve of the Purple Aces' 25 first-half points came during the final 6:34 of the half.
The Shockers shot 53.8 percent in the first half (14-for-26) and the Purple Aces 33.3 percent. Murry's eight points led all scorers in the first 20 minutes. Durley, Kyles and Blair each had seven points for Wichita State.
The Purple Aces cut Wichita State's lead to nine points less than five minutes into the second half. The Shockers responded with a 7-0 run to build up a 51-35 lead. That blossomed into a 15-5 scoring run that boosted Wichita State to a 19-point lead.
Two free throws from Kyles gave the Shockers their largest lead of the game, 61-40.
Smith posted 11 points in the first 11 minutes of the second half for the Shockers, including three 3-pointers.
The Shockers took a 30-point lead with a 12-0 run that concluded with Ragland's second 3-pointer of the run with 7:02 left to play.
Tyler Richardson and Derek Brown combined to hit three 3-pointers down the stretch to extend the Shockers' lead to 36 points.
The Shockers continue MVC play with a 6:35 p.m. game Jan. 1 at Bradley that can be seen on ESPNU.
- Wichita State -
