WICHITA, Kan.- Led by Ron Baker's 22 points, the Wichita State men's basketball team defeated Northwood 112-55 on Saturday afternoon inside Charles Koch Arena.
The Shockers scored the most points in an exhibition game under head coach Gregg Marshall, and topped the 100-point mark in pre-season play for the first time since scoring 100 against Pitt State in 2012.
Baker was 7-for-11 (.636) from the field, including 4-for-6 (.667) from behind the arc, as 14 different Shockers got on the scoreboard. Ria'n Holland 16 points, going 4-for-4 from three-point land and had two assists. Corey Henderson and Tekele Cotton also scored in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Preseason All-American Fred VanVleet got the scoring started for the Shockers when he flew to the basket, connecting on a tip-in off a missed jumper. Cotton's lay-in made it 6-2 Wichita State and later, Baker's three just before the first media timeout stretched the Shocker lead to 11-6.
Freshman Rashard Kelly's reverse layup pushed the lead to 14-8 and forced Northwood to take a timeout with 14:23 remaining in the first half. Kelly connected on a three a few minutes later to stretch the Shocker lead to 21-8 and Holland hit a three of his own a couple of possessions later to put Wichita State up 24-10 and cap a 13-2 run for Wichita State.
The Shockers continued to pour it on as back-to-back threes from Baker and Evan Wessel put the lead at 45-23 Wichita State. Baker then drove into the lane and completed an old-fashioned three–point play with a free-throw to give the Shockers a 51-29 advantage with 58 seconds remaining in the half.
Wichita State took a 56-29 lead into halftime. Baker led the way with 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, while also adding four assists. Kelly added seven points and five rebounds, while 11 different Shockers scored. Wichita State out-rebounded the Seahawks 21-14 and shot 20-for-35 (.571) from the field, including 7-for-13 (.538) from three-point land.
Darius Carter slammed one home in transition early in the second half off an assist from Fred VanVleet to give Wichita State a 30-point lead, 59-29. The Shockers didn't allow the Seahawks to score in the second half until the 15:44 mark.
Later in the half, back-to-back threes from Holland and Henderson put Wichita State up 87-38 with just less than 10 minutes remaining in the game. Zach Bush scored the 100th point of the game for the Shockers when he hit a free throw at the 5:05 mark.
The Shockers went on to win 112-55, shooting 38-for-65 (.585) from the field, including 13-for-24 (.542) from behind the arc. Wichita State out-rebounded Northwood 45-27 and forced 21 turnovers.
Wichita State will open the regular-season on Fri., Nov. 14 when they welcome New Mexico State to Charles Koch Arena for a tip set for 8 p.m.
For all your Shocker merchandise click here.
-WICHITA STATE-
