NORMAL, Ill. – No. 15 Wichita State out-toughed Illinois State, 68-62, to win a physical Missouri Valley Conference road battle.

Ron Baker scored a game-high 19 points for the Shockers (23-3, 13-1 MVC), who led wire-to-wire but struggled to shake the Redbirds until the final seconds.

After being outrebounded by five in the first meeting at Charles Koch Arena, WSU regrouped in the rematch, winning the battle of the boards 40-26.

The Shockers also knocked down a season best 84.4 percent from the free throw line (27-of-32).

Their efforts on the glass and at the line made the difference in a game where neither team shot well. ISU (15-11, 7-7 MVC) finished at 41.5 percent from the field to just 36.7 percent for WSU.

Fred VanVleet tallied 15 points to go with 12 for Evan Wessel. Tekele Cotton narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.

DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell led ISU with 18 points to go with 10 points and eight boards for Reggie Lynch.

Daishon Knight, who put up 24 points in the first meeting, went scoreless on 0-for-8 shooting, thanks in part to the defensive efforts of Cotton.

WSU jumped to leads of 13-4 and 24-16 in the first half and took a 27-21 lead into the break, fueled by a 24-12 rebounding edge that included 11 offensive boards.

Wessel's three-pointer made it an 11-point Shocker lead with 8:45 to play in the second half, but ISU countered with a 9-0 run to cut the margin back to 50-48 at the 6:17 mark.

The lead bounced between two and four points over the next four minutes. VanVleet  gave the Shockers some much needed breathing room, pushing the pace for a transition layup for 60-54 WSU edge with 2:22 left.

A pair of free throws helped ISU cut the lead back to four with just over a minute to go, but the Shockers answered with perhaps their best offensive possession of the night.

Baker worked the ball quickly into the lane, and VanVleet threaded a perfect pass to Wessel for a wide-open, back-door layup. That pushed the lead to 62-56 with 58 seconds showing.

ISU missed a pair of threes on its next trip down before fouling, and Wessel pumped in two more free throws.

WSU went 22-of-26 at the foul line over the final 20 minutes en route to its seventh straight win over ISU.

With three assists, VanVleet (422 career assists), passed  Bob Trogele for third on the school's all-time assists list. He needs just seven more to match Warren Armstrong for second and eight more to match Toure' Murry for the all-time best.

WSU next travels to Southern Illinois for a Tuesday night matchup. Tip if scheduled for just after 7:00 pm CT on Cox Channel Kansas.

Purchase all your Shocker merchandise at the official Wichita State Team Store.

-Wichita State-