EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Ben Smith dropped in 17 points while J.T. Durley had eight points and a team-high 11 rebounds as the Wichita State University men's basketball team withstood a late charge by Evansville to defeat the Purple Aces 80-74 Tuesday night.

The win keeps the Shockers in a tie with Missouri State for the top spot in the Missouri Valley Conference as WSU improves to 22-5 overall and 13-3 in the conference.

Evansville drops to 14-12 on the year, 8-8 in the Valley.

Three other Shockers reach the double-digit plateau including Joe Ragland who had 13 points and four assists.  Garrett Stutz came off the bench to add 12 points and seven boards while Graham Hatch notched 10 points.

Evansville's Colt Ryan led all scorers with 22 points.

Evansville shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half (12-for-24) to pressure the Shocker defense.  Following a three-pointer by Ned Cox with 1:04left in the first half the Shockers saw the home team take a slim 37-35 lead.  Hatch responded for WSU with eight seconds remaining as he dropped in one of his two three-pointers on the day to put the Shockers up 38-37 heading into the break.

The Purple Aces led late in the second half, going up 64-62 with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation (6:53).  The Shockers responded, going on a 6-0 run to tie the contest before Smith gave the visiting team some breathing room at 74-68.

Wichita State had 19 second-chance points compared to only two for Evansville.

The Shockers out rebounded the Purple Aces 46-22.  The biggest difference on the glass came on the offensive side of the ball as the Shockers collected 16 offensive rebounds compared to only four for Evansville.  The home team also collected 27 fouls compared to 23 for WSU.

Cox finished with 10 points for UE.

Toure' Murry had eight points including a 2-for-3 line from behind the arc in the win for Wichita State.

Next up for the Shockers is the 2011 Sears Bracketbusters game against Virginia Commonwealth University on Friday, Feb. 18.  VCU, which hails from Richmond, Va., competes in the Colonial Athletic Association.  Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.