Postgame Comments: Marshall | Willis |  Quotes

WICHITA, Kan. -- Helped by three extended scoring runs, Wichita State powered to its most lopsided series win over Tulsa in 44 years, 80-53, Wednesday evening at Charles Koch Arena.
 
WSU (3-0) used runs of 11-0 and 14-0 to build a 44-30 halftime advantage, and a 16-0 spurt midway through the second half served as the knockout punch.
 
The 27-point margin was the most lopsided Shocker win over a Tulsa team since a 92-60 victory on Jan. 29, 1972. It was also WSU's third-largest spread in 126 meetings with the Golden Hurricane, dating back to 1931.
 
Markis McDuffie scored a career-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds and fellow forwards Darral Willis Jr. (16 points) and Zach Brown (15) also factored prominently.

McDuffie went 4-for-9 from the field and 9-of-12 at the foul line, while setting another personal-best with four assists. He scored 13 of his points before halftime.

Brown collected 11 of his 15 points in the second half and finished the game 3-of-4 from three-point range.

Willis -- a transfer from Pearl River (Miss.) Community College -- continues to make strides. He ended 7-of-13 from the field with seven rebounds and a pair of steals.

Rauno Nurger finished with nine points, and Shaquille Morris added eight.
 
Morris played just 10 minutes due to first-half foul trouble but knocked down all four of his field goal attempts. He's a perfect 9-for-9 from the field through the first three contests.
 
Pat Birt hit 6-of-12 shots on his way to 17 points to lead Tulsa (0-2). Junior Etou scored six points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
 
Former Shocker Corey Henderson added nine points, three assists and two steals in his return to Charles Koch Arena. Henderson was a freshman on WSU's 2014-15 Sweet 16 team.
 
In winning for the eighth time in nine tries against Tulsa, WSU outrebounded the visitors by 52-30, including 30-12 in the opening half.

The Shockers also continued an impressive trend with 52 bench points. Through three games, the reserves have contributed nearly 60 percent of the team's total points, and they've outscored their first three opponents by themselves, 151-147.



The Shockers were again stout on defense, holding Tulsa to 33 percent shooting, including just 6-of-22 from beyond the arc. WSU dished out 20 assists in the game on 27 made field goals (27-63), good for 42.9 percent.
 
WSU trailed for the first time this season (3-2 at 18:27), but that predicament lasted less than a minute. McDuffie hit four free throws and knocked down a three-pointer to spark an 11-0 Shocker run, and the hosts led 13-3 at the 15:31 mark.
 
The Shockers big men teamed up to extend the lead. Willis scored on back-to-back trips, then Morris did the same a minute later to make it a 21-10 WSU lead with 12:31 to play in the half.
 
The buckets didn't come as easily over the next five minutes. The Shockers missed their next six shots from the field, and Tulsa inched closer. Pat Birt's three-pointer sliced the lead to 23-19 with just under to 8:00 minutes remaining in the period, and a free throw on the next trip made it a three-point game.
 
Willis broke the dry-spell with a layup, and the Shockers scored the next 14 points to reestablish momentum.
 
Nurger, Reaves and McDuffie converted layups, as WSU rolled to a 37-20 lead at the 4:15-mark.
 
Birt launched his own personal 7-0 run for Tulsa, hitting three-consecutive jumpers to give Tulsa life again and pull the visitors to within ten.
 
WSU answered with back-to-back three-pointers by Brown and Nurger and went into the break up 14.
 
After the teams traded baskets for the first nine minutes of the second half, WSU began putting some distance between itself and the Golden Hurricane. Brown scored 11 points around a massive two-hand slam from Willis Jr. during a 16-0 Shocker run to blow the game open, 71-43, with 7:40 to go.
 
During the run, Brown scored via a layup, two three-pointers and a three-point play to seal the deal.
 
The icing on the cake came courtesy of a three from the top of the key by Zach Bush with 49 seconds left.
 
Up Next:
WSU concludes a four-game homestand to open the season when it welcomes Maryland-Eastern Shore on Sunday afternoon. The 2 p.m. CT tip will air statewide on Cox Channel Kansas (Cox HD 2022) and in the Kansas City metro area on Time Warner SportsChannel 2. Fans outside of the two markets can tune in on ESPN3.