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WICHITA, Kan. – Behind a 23-4 second half run, No. 22/25 Wichita State overpowered Loyola Wednesday night at Charles Koch Arena on the way to a 80-54 win.

WSU (15-5, 9-0 Missouri Valley Conference) reached the midway point with an unbeaten conference record for the third-straight year and extended its winning streak to 10 games for only the second time since 1983 (the 2013-14 team won 35-straight).

The Shockers also improved their home court winning streak to 42-straight and have now won 23-consecutive home games over MVC opponents, which is the second-longest in school history and two away from the record set from 1982-85.

WSU had great balance in the scoring column with seven players putting up eight-or-more points. Shaquille Morris led all scorers with 12 points to go with six rebounds on 6-of-8 shooting. Rashard Kelly added 11 points, four rebounds and two assists off the bench and became the 11th different-Shocker to score in double-figures this year.

Ron Baker stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, seven rebounds, five assists and a new career-high six steals. Fred VanVleet recorded eight points, and an eight-assist night moved him into the top-10 on the MVC's all-time list with 552 for his career.

Also reaching a career milestone in tonight's game was Anton Grady. With his defensive board at the 15:09 mark in the first half, Grady collected his 800th career board, becoming just the 19th active Division I player to reach the mark.

WSU shot 54 percent overall from the field, while holding the Ramblers to 39 percent. The Shockers tallied a season-high 22 assists (their highest total since Nov. 23, 2014 against Newman) on 28 field goals

The Shockers defense forced 14 turnovers and outrebounded Loyola, 40-30. It's the fifth time in six games that WSU has won the battle of the boards by 10-or-more.

WSU scored the first eight points of the night, forcing an early Loyola timeout just three-minutes into the game, and led 26-10 at the 7:29-mark of the first half. The lead ballooned to as many as 19 points in the final two minutes, 36-17, before the Ramblers closed the half on a 7-1 run to get back to within 13.

Loyola pulled to within 11 (47-36) at the 13:42-mark of the second half after hitting five of its first six-second half shots. WSU responded with a 9-0 run to open up a 56-36 margin, following a Conner Frankamp three-pointer.

That 9-0 run quickly snowballed into more. Back-to-back three-pointers from VanVleet and an ally-oop from VanVleet to Kelly brought the house down, forcing a Loyola timeout. At the under-eight media timeout, WSU held a 66-40 lead.

A pair of VanVleet free throws gave WSU a 30-point edge, 70-40, with 6:01 left.

Up Next
The Shockers journey to Evansville on Sunday afternoon (3 p.m. CT, ESPNU), looking to create further separation in the Valley conference standings. WSU is 3-1 at the Ford Center with back-to-back wins in 2014 and 2015, and 10-10 all-time in Evansville.
 

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Postgame Quotes:

Gregg Marshall on…

…his team's unselfish play on the offensive end
"I thought we were over-passing in the first half almost. We had really good shots that turned into just okay shots because we were really zipping the ball around. You don't want to harness the unselfishness this team plays with, so you just let them go, and ultimately we found good shots.

It's amazing- you've got guys [VanVleet and Baker] who are pre-season All-American and [MVC] pre-season Player of the Year, post-season-honors, representing the United States [at this summer's Pan American games training camp] and they take six shots each. They don't really care about it, they just want to play."
 
…Morris' third-straight double-figure game and continued improvement
"We're really happy for him and happy for us. It's a catch-22, because you're proud of him, but at the same time you know there's more. There's still untapped potential. It's going to be incumbent on him at some point in his career to be in the best possible shape he can be in and not commit silly fouls. What kind of numbers could he put up if he could play…like Ron and Fred with the same type of vigor, vitality, and stamina for 32 minutes?"
 
…Kelly fine-tuning his game
"He doesn't have to have a complicated game. He's better doing the simple things- going to the glass every time and getting some stick-backs. Being a cutter and not a stander on the perimeter so that he gets layups, runners, and floaters in the lane and dunks, and not mid-range jump shots. I think he's more active. He too has worked pretty hard this summer on cutting his body up and being in better shape. His is not a finesse game, it's got to be in the trenches."

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Shaquille Morris on…

...How he can continue to play more minutes
"Obviously, Coach Marshall says that [improving] my conditioning is what can keep me on the floor for another two, three, or four more minutes. Every time I'm out there I'm just thinking: 'go hard until I get tired,' so I'm not really worried about staying on the floor. It's about being effective while I'm on the floor and helping my teammates."

...How he was able to handle the double-teams in the post
"[Coaches] called it 'Monster,' and within our individual drills in practice, Coach Marshall was making us work on 'Monster' a lot. Coach [Isaac Brown] had us dribbling out of it, finishing through it, and that had prepared for it this game."

...His proficiency in blocking shots, and if he keeps track of them/sets a goal
"It started in the locker room. On the board, we have a 'midterm' grade that Coach Marshall talks about. He said that tomorrow would be a day off if we [played well enough], and I'm like 'oh that's all I need to hear!' Fred heard me say that, and he's like 'I need 12 [points], six [rebounds], two blocks, and two assists.' So I got an extra block, and needed one more assist.

We got the day off tomorrow."

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Fred VanVleet on…

...Shaq's improvement over the course of the season
"He's growing up and maturing...I don't think anybody can take credit for what he's doing besides him. My thing with him is to keep it consistent. I don't pat him on the back too much. I just acknowledge what he's doing and keep practicing and working with him. Obviously the production he's given in the minutes he's been playing is pretty good. If he gets that minute total up, you'll see more [production]. He's still got more that he can better at, and he's been working everyday. That's my biggest thing with him: be an everyday guy."

...If lobbing up a pass for an alley-oop – like the one he threw to Kelly in the second half —  is his favorite kind of assist
"Any time you can give to a guy and he can score, I like that...Throwing lobs is fun for me and for whoever is catching it. I just like seeing other guys score and get easy baskets and get the crowd going.

At home, when the crowd is behind us, it can be huge for momentum...it can rattle the other team."

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Rashard Kelly on...

...His improved play recently
"I'd probably have to start with my mindset. I was in a slump at the start of the season. I try to make personal goals each day to get better as much as I possibly can.

My teammates helped me believe in myself...Don't hesitate or think twice. Don't listen to [anybody] tell you how good of a player you are, just let your talent show for itself.. "

...The unselfish play of the team
"I think we're just playing basketball. It's nothing you can really draw up. Tonight we were just having fun. Nobody's trying to be Magic Johnson. We've got the leading assist [player in program history], so if anybody's used to making those plays it's Fred. It was just about playing basketball tonight."