EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Shockers found themselves battling from behind against a scrappy Evansville squad who pulled the upset against the Missouri Valley's second-place Wichita State (20-6, 9-5) on Tuesday night at Roberts Stadium, 65-62.

Freshman guard Demetric Williams served as a catalyst on Tuesday, sparking for a career-high 12 points as senior point guard Clevin Hannah was plagued with foul trouble for large chunks of the game. Sophomore center Garrett Stutz paced the Shockers with 15 points, 12 of which came in the first half.

James Haarsma paced the Purple Aces (7-17, 1-13) to their first MVC win with 18 points while Denver Holmes added 17 points.

The Shockers dug themselves a hole in the opening 20 minutes as their starting five totaled just eight points. Stutz did his best to pick up the slack, scoring 12-straight points for the Shocks.

Evansville had a hot hand on their side as well en route to building a 30-20 halftime lead. James Haarsma caught fire for nine points in the first half, five of which came in the final five minutes before the break.

After holding the Aces scoreless in the first three minutes of the half, the Shockers used junior forward JT Durley's three to construct a quick lead.

As Evansville took the 8-7 edge, Stutz sprung into action. The Shocks' big man knocked down 12-consecutive points and grabbed five rebounds to keep his team in the game despite a slow start for the rest of the offense. His layup at the five-minute mark knotted the game, 19-19, when junior guard Graham Hatch's free throw stopped Stutz' solo scoring run.

Facing a slight 20-19 deficit, the Aces rallied for an 11-0 run to end the half with a 30-20 lead.

Evansville continued taking it to its guests to kick-off the second half, getting buckets from Haarsma and Denver Holmes to extend the lead to 12. In the meantime, the Aces added another positive to their list when Hannah was whistled for his third foul barely three minutes into the half.

As they've done all season, the Shockers buckled down and went to work. Staring at the wrong end of a 35-23 score two minutes in, the rally began. A big three from Williams cut the deficit, 37-31. Although Ace guard Ned Cox drained a three in response, WSU had seemingly found its groove.

Back-to-back buckets from Hatch and Williams cut Evansville's lead to three. Hannah's second long ball of the evening tied the game for the first time since the opening minutes, 48-48.

While the game returned to an even slate, fouls became the Shockers' biggest opponent. In the span of a minute, Durley, Hannah and junior forward Gabe Blair were each hit with their fourth fouls. Taking advantage of the Shockers' hardship, Evansville answered with an 11-1 run to quickly stretch the lead back to double digits, 59-49.

Refusing to surrender, Williams filled Hannah's role as the offensive spark with a drive and one to chip away at the gap. Hatch's timely three ball put the Shocks right back in it once again, 59-55, with threes minutes remaining.

A massive steal for Williams' on an Aces' inbounds pass led to a Blair dunk, putting the game within reach, 61-57, under the two-minute mark. Stepping up even more, the freshman knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a one-possession game with 44 ticks on the clock.

Unyielding hustle led to three offensive rebounds on the Shocks' final offensive possession, setting up three free throws after Hannah was fouled on an attempt behind the arc. True to form, the 92-percent free-throw shooter knocked down all three to set the stage for a thrilling final 7.5 seconds down, 63-62.

The thrill landed on the home team's side, however, as two more free throws sealed the Aces' victory, 65-62.

Wichita State returns to action on Valentine's Day when Missouri State makes its way to Charles Koch Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.-

-Wichita State-