WICHITA, Kan.-Fred VanVleet scored 18 points and handed out eight assists to lead the Wichita State men's basketball past William & Mary 79-62 on Thursday night inside Charles Koch Arena.

Cleanthony Early scored all 14 of his points in the first half and grabbed nine rebounds. Ron Baker shot 5-for-9 from the field, including 3-for-7 from 3-point land to score 13 points.

William & Mary came out attacking the paint, scoring its first ten points close to the basket to take a 10-3 lead into the first media timeout. The Tribe hit a 3-pointer out of the timeout to stretch their lead to 13-3, but a Fred VanVleet lay-up and a Baker 3-pointer, fueled a 6-0 run for the Shockers to cut the lead to 13-9.

A Nick Wiggins steal and dunk cut the Tribe lead to 16-13 with 9:59 remaining in the half, but William & Mary scored the next four points to go back up six, 20-13. The teams traded baskets for the rest of the half, until Early scored the last five points for the Shockers, including a 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining to put Wichita State down one, 39-38 going into halftime.

Wichita State shot 14-for-29 (.483) from the field in the first 20 minutes, including 4-for-11 (.364) from behind the arc. Early led all scorers with 14 points, while pulling down five rebounds. VanVleet contributed five points and six assists.

Kadeem Coleby gave the Shockers their first lead of the game early in the second half with a dunk, then his jumper in the paint put the Wichita State lead at 45-41, and forced a Tribe timeout at the 16:05 mark.

VanVleet hit a 3-pointer with 12:47 left in the game to put the Shockers up 53-43. Then, to cap an 18-4 run, Chadrack Lufile stole the ball and dunked it on the other end to put the score at 58-45 Wichita State.

The Shockers continued to keep William & Mary at bay with a Wiggins 3-pointer from the corner that put the score at 66-55 with 6:30 remaining in the game. A pair of VanVleet free-throws and a Baker steal and lay-in stretched the Shocker lead to 74-61, and the Shockers went on to win 79-62.

Wichita State will host Tennessee State on Saturday inside Charles Koch Arena. Tip is set for 12 p.m.