Box Score WICHITA, Kan. – Fred VanVleet scored 21 points to lead all scorers, and No. 15 Wichita State used a 22-4 first-half run to silence Indiana State, 74-57, Wednesday night at Charles Koch Arena.
WSU (22-3, 12-1 Missouri Valley Conference) pushed its school record home winning streak to 30 games and kept pace with Northern Iowa atop the standings.
VanVleet's 100th game as a Shocker was another stat sheet-stuffing effort. He hit 8-of-14 shots from the field, including 2-of-4 from three and added six rebounds, four assists (without a turnover) and three steals.
Tekele Cotton added 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting and also collected two blocks. Darius Carter scored an efficient 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go with a team-high seven boards.
Tre Bennett led ISU (12-13, 8-5 MVC) with 11 points, and Devonte Brown chipped in 10.
WSU outshot the Sycamores 41.9 to 34.8 percent from the field and won the battle of the boards, 40-35. ISU went to the foul line 33 times but converted just 22 freebies, while the Shockers knocked down 16-of-20.
WSU trailed 14-10 at the midway point of the second half before flipping the switch. Over a stretch of just under eight minutes they put 24 points on the board.
The run began with five straight makes from the field. Cotton made a strong move to the basket for two points. VanVleet forced a steal and fed Wessel for two more, tying the game at 14.
Wessel drained a three on the next trip down, then Carter beat the shot clock with a 15-foot jumper. Less than a minute later he scored in the post to finish out an 11-0 run. WSU led 21-14 at that point, with just over seven minutes to play in the half.
Shaquille Morris slammed home a miss to stretch the lead to 25-16 with 4:35 to go in the half.
VanVleet went to work with a jumper, followed by back-to-back threes on his way to 14 first-half points, and the Shockers led 35-20 at the 1:49 mark.
WSU led by as many as 16 in the first half but settled for a 38-24 halftime advantage.
ISU twice pulled to within 10 points, the second coming with 13:55 remaining in the game. Cotton answered with a triple that helped launch a 9-2 spurt.
The Shockers added another 7-0 run midway through the half to stretch the lead to 20 and would go up by as many as 24 before calling off the dogs.
WSU hits the road for two straight games, beginning Saturday at Illinois State. The nationall-televised game will air on ESPN2 beginning at 5:00 p.m. CT.
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