DES MOINES, Iowa – Early offense from Tekele Cotton and a strong finish by Ron Baker helped No. 16 Wichita State grind out a road win at Drake, 66-58, Wednesday evening at the Knapp Center.

WSU (11-2, 1-0 Missouri Valley Conference) built on what it began a year ago, winning its 19th straight MVC game (tied with Bradley for the sixth-longest in MVC history) and 10th consecutive MVC road contest (the longest in nearly seven decades).

Cotton opened strong, hitting a pair of threes on his way to 15 first-half points – nearly half of the WSU total up to that point.

The Shockers led 29-25 at the break and never trailed in the second half. Yet Drake nipped at their heels all the way up to the final two minutes.

Baker, who scored 19 of his game-high 23 points in the final 12:15, helped keep WSU in front, knocking down five of six shots in one stretch. The junior also grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists without a turnover.

Seven-foot sophomore Jacob Enevold had a big day for Drake (3-10-, 0-1 MVC), tallying 12 points and 15 rebounds, as the Bulldogs became only the seventh team in the last 50 games to outrebound the Shockers (38-29).

Despite 12 offensive boards, the Drake offense never found a rhythm. The Bulldogs shot just 33 percent from the floor.

The Shockers finished the games at 40.8 percent and knocked down 9-of-17 three-point attempts. Six different WSU players connected from deep, led by Cotton (2-for-3), Baker (2-for-5) and Corey Henderson (2-for-5).

WSU returns home for its next two games, hosting Illinois State on Sunday afternoon and Bradley on Jan. 7.

Cotton scored the first seven Shocker points on a pair of driving layups. That was the extent of WSU's early success inside against Drake's zone defense.

The Shockers' next 12 points all came from three-pointers – two of them by Cotton, who reached double-figures before the game was even 10 minutes old.

Drake, meanwhile, had success generating shots from inside but had trouble connecting, missing 10 of its first 12 from the field.

Two WSU turnovers led to Drake baskets. VanVleet wrestled the lead back with a three from the wing to put the Shockers up 10-9 at the 12-minute mark of the first half.

The lead changed hands six times in the first 12 minutes. Corey Henderson's trey put WSU in front 16-14 with 8:38 remaining before halftime.

The Shockers added to that margin. VanVleet exploded between two defenders for a lay-in. Moments later, VanVleet smothered a Gary Ricks shot, leading to a run-out. Cotton fed ahead to Baker for a layup and a 20-15 lead at the 5:56 mark.

VanVleet went to the bench just two minutes later after picking up two quick fouls. The second came when he was whistled for a charge in transition.

The Shockers scored just one more field goal over the final 4:06 but kept pace by going 6-for-6 from the foul line. WSU led by as many as five points on three different occasions before settling for a 29-25 halftime lead.

Cotton – 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting – had over half of the Shockers' first-half scoring output.

WSU missed its first five shots of the second half, and Drake whittled the margin to 29-28.

The Shockers went to their full court press three minutes in and succeeded in shaking up the tempo. After a WSU steal, Carter tipped in an inbounds lob through contact in what turned into a three-point play.

Drake tied it with 14:02 to play in the game on Ricks' guarded three from the corner. Zach Brown answered immediately on the other for the Shockers with a three of his own to give WSU a 37-34 lead.

Baker came to life midway through the second half after a slow shooting start with back-to-back makes.

With the game knotted at 38, he wormed through the heart of the Drake defense for two points. On the next trip down, Baker penetrated, then kicked to a wide open Rashard Kelly for three to give WSU some breathing room – 43-38 at the 11:34 mark.

VanVleet went back to the bench after picking up his third and fourth fouls consecutive possessions and would spend the next nine minutes on the bench.

Cotton tipped home a lob from Baker, and Henderson stroked a three to give WSU its biggest lead to that point, 48-41, with just over nine minutes showing.

Baker continued his onslaught with his fifth make in six tries. He hit back-to-back threes in a space of 30 seconds to make it a 59-49 game with 5:19 left to go.

Drake used some timely threes to keep the game tight. Ricks hit a deep trey, and Brown was called for a foul after the shot. Caird hit 1-of-2 free throws to make it a four-point trip, pulling the Bulldogs back to within 59-53.

After a quick stop, Ricks worked the pick-and-roll for Enevold and an easy dunk, as Drake found itself within four points with four minutes on the clock.

That was the margin at the 2:10 when VanVleet re-entered. Baker was fouled an convert one of two free throws. The Shockers posted a pair of defensive stops, and Baker effectively iced the game with a driving layup.

WSU won its sixth straight over Drake and now leads the all-time series 99-47. The Shockers won their third consecutive game at the Knapp Center and improved to 13-11 there.

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-Wichita State-