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Postgame Interview WICHITA, Kan. – Two days removed from its first home loss in nearly three years, Wichita State returned to form to hammer New Mexico State, 71-41, Monday night at Charles Koch Arena.
WSU (19-8) was originally scheduled to face the Aggies on Dec. 28, but winter weather postponed the contest until the second-to-last week of the conference season.
Ron Baker became the 12th player in program history to reach 1,500 career points.
Baker's 13-point night pushed his total 1,503. He joins Toure' Murry (1,539 points) as the only Gregg Marshall Era Shocker to cross that threshold.
Fred VanVleet (12 points),
Zach Brown (11) and
Anton Grady (10) also finished in double-figures. VanVleet tacked on seven assists with just one turnover.
WSU didn't commit its first turnover until midway through the second and matched a season-low with three giveaways.
NMSU (18-9) hit its first six shots from the field, then went 9-of-33 (.272) the rest of the way. The Aggies became the latest Shocker opponent to finish with more turnovers (20) than field goals (15).
The nation's leader in double-doubles, Pascal Siakam, added to his total with a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds. He now has 22 double-doubles this season and came into the game averaging 21.7 points and 11.7 rebounds, which both rank top-15 in the country.
The Shockers shot 46 percent from the floor in the game and hit 6-of-15 attempts from beyond the arc. New Mexico State were just 6-for-19 in the second half to finish at 40 percent for the game. The Aggies converted on 48 percent of their shots in the first half.
WSU started the second half the way it finished the first half and quickly extended its lead to 46-27, just five minutes into the half. An 8-0 run then gave the Shockers their largest lead to that point, 56-30, with just under 10 minutes to play. VanVleet,
Markis McDuffie and
Shaquille Morris all chipped in during the run.
Baker's second triple of the night put Wichita State up 63-36 with less than five minutes to play in the game. At the final media timeout, the Shockers led 65-38 after Siakam and
Rashard Kelly traded baskets.
Brown got the Shockers off to a good start by scoring nine of the team's first 10 points of the game, but New Mexico State would match WSU shot-for-shot, as the Aggies hit their first six field goal attempts.
At the 7:25-mark in the first half the score was knotted up at 18 behind cold shooting from the Shockers and seven New Mexico State turnovers. WSU connected on just seven of its first 21 attempts from the field.
The Shockers used a 12-0 spurt to open up a 30-18 lead with three minutes remaining in the half. Grady scored six of the eight points for WSU during the run. After the Aggies hit their first six shots from the field, they went just 4-for-15 the rest of the half. NMSU went more than eight minutes without a field goal when Wichita State opened its double-digit lead.
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Conner Frankamp three-pointer at the buzzer to end the half sent the Shockers into the locker room with a 37-24 lead. Brown led all scorers with 11 points at the break behind 4-of-7 shooting, including a pair of threes.
Grady and VanVleet added eight points apiece, while VanVleet dished out six assists as well.
WSU finished the half shooting 44 percent from the field and got a huge lift from the reserves, outscoring NMSU 17-2 in bench points. New Mexico State shot 48 percent from the field and outrebounded WSU in the opening half, 18-14, but committed nine turnovers that led to 12 points for the home team.
Siakam led the Aggies in scoring and rebounding in the first half with nine points and six boards.
Up NextMissouri State comes to town Thursday night for an early 6 p.m. start on CBS Sports Network.
GREGG MARSHALL ON… …Rescheduling this game during current home stretch "As it turned out it was a good thing, the timing of this rescheduled game. We certainly needed to play a game after Saturday, and we played a good team…We had a lot of good performances and came out injury-free so it was a positive… It was a lot more fun than practicing."
…Improving quality of play "We were much more energetic, and we were much more crisp. We made a few more shots, attacked the basket, and executed a little better. It was a good performance. We had a lot of quality performances by individuals, which leads to a good team performance."
…Zach Brown's night"Brown was under control in his rips to the rim. He made a couple of jump shot and he was very active on the glass. I liked his motor tonight."
RON BAKER ON… …A win like tonight coming off a disappointing loss"We felt like the community deserved to see us win out as seniors. It took a toll on us through Sunday. Coach wanted us to put that game behind us. He was happy we had a game today. It cheered everyone up and got our backs off the wall a little bit."
…Forcing 20 turnovers tonight, which WSU also did last year"Our goal was to force 20 tonight. We knew last year that the pressure disrupted them. It's hard to pass the ball into the post when you have a lot of pressure on the wings. [Pascal] Siakam is a dangerous threat when he's got the ball in his hands, so the best way to guard him is to not let him get it. I thought for the most part we did a good job doing that."
ZACH BROWN ON… …His preparation in coming to the gym two hours before the game and shooting"I'm just focusing on winning. I'm just trying to do all I can to help the team out. I feel like I need to more, and also doing the simple things that coach [Marshall] told me to do. What better way to do that than to [come in early] and get some shots up, so that when the opportunity presents itself I can knock shots down with confidence."
…The emphasis on getting to the rim and attacking the Aggies' post players"We really wanted to be aggressive against their big men. We had a tough mindset coming in. They've got some amazing players. Our main goal was to come in and redeem ourselves from the Northern Iowa game."
ANTON GRADY ON… …Having a short turn-around and playing again so soon"It was really a good thing for the players and coaches. I think after that tough loss [on Saturday], we didn't want to dwell on it all week…It gave us an opportunity to get back on the court and redeem ourselves. The seniors today - we had a 'don't lose' mindset. The underclassmen did a great job of coming out, especially Zach, and giving great effort."
