CHICAGO, Ill. – Wichita State ended its Valley road schedule on a strong note, defeating Loyola 76-54 on Wednesday night at Gentile Arena.
 
WSU (22-7, 15-2 Missouri Valley Conference) has won four straight games – all by 20 or more points.
 
Ron Baker led all scorers with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go with five rebounds and two steals.
 
With a 15-point first half, Baker (1,551 career) moved into 10th on WSU's all-time scoring list. He also slid into fourth on the career steals chart with a pair of thefts. His 158 are now two more than former teammate Tekele Cotton.
 
Anton Grady also had a big night, finishing with 17 points and five rebounds to go with two blocks and two steals. The senior was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
 
Fred VanVleet finished with a jackpot of a stat line (7 points, 7 assists, 7 rebounds). The Rockford, Ill. native was a combined 11-for-11 from the field in two previous trips to Gentile Arena (just 85 miles down the road from his hometown) but went 1-of-6 in his final visit. The lone make came on his final attempt, when he buried a trey off a feed from John Robert Simon.
 
For Loyola, Devon Turk finished with 18 points on 4-of-7 three-point shooting. Montel James collected a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
 
For the ninth-straight road Valley game, WSU held its opponent to less than 40 percent shooting from the floor, as the Ramblers went 18-51 (.353). The Shocker bench continued to shine, outscoring Loyola's reserves 35-13.
 
WSU raced to an 8-0 lead. Baker scored seven of WSU's first 10 points on three jumpers, and the Shockers set the tone defensively with three blocks in the first four minutes of play.
 
Grady's jumper at the 13:16-mark made it a 16-4 Shocker advantage, but WSU missed its next seven shots. A five-and-a-half minute dry spell allowed Loyola to inch back to within 16-11.
 
The Shockers stemmed the tide with a 90-second flurry that produced seven-straight points. After scoring just 16 points in the first 12:10, WSU doubled its total over the next five minutes, outscoring the Ramblers 19-6 to grab an 18-point lead.
 
Loyola made a late push with help from three Turk treys over the final 2:30 of the half to get to within 37-27 at the half.
 
WSU's first half scoring ledger came without its usual balance. Baker (15 points on 5-of-8 shooting) and Grady (10 points on 3-of-5) combined for over two-third of the production.
 
After opening the game 5-of-21 (.238), Loyola closed the first half by making 6 of its last 9.
 
The teams traded baskets early in the second half. Grady's three-point play gave WSU a 50-33 lead at 14:33.
 
From that point, the Shockers never led by less than 13. A late push upped the final margin to 22, as Ty Taylor II connected ahead of the shot clock with 30 seconds to go.
 
Notes :
 
* Frankamp was charged with his first turnover since Dec. 31 at Drake. He had played 273 turnover free minutes in 17 games since that day.
 
*WSU improved to 6-0 against Loyola and are the only team that the Ramblers have not beaten in their three seasons in the league. The Shockers lead the all-time series 23-7.
 
*VanVleet tied the Valley's modern record for conference wins with his 62nd MVC regular season victory.
 
Up Next:
 
The Shockers close out the 2015-16 regular season at home against Illinois State this Saturday (1 p.m. CT on ESPN2). Ron Baker, Anton Grady, Fred VanVleet, Bush Wamukota and Evan Wessel will all be honored during Senior Day festivities.