DES MOINES, Iowa – No. 25/24 Wichita State closed out the first half on a 27-5 run to bury Drake, 74-48, Tuesday evening at the Knapp Center.

WSU (18-6, 12-1 Missouri Valley Conference) bounced back from its first MVC loss by posting its most lopsided win in 71 visits to Des Moines with a 26-point final margin (the 2004-05 team won 75-53).
 
Ron Baker (11 points, six rebounds, five assists) and Shaquille Morris (11 points on 5-of-6 shooting) led a balanced scoring effort. Eight Shockers finished with six-or-more points.
 
Rashard Kelly grabbed a career-high eight rebounds, and Fred VanVleet  dished out five assists with just one turnover.
 
Reed Timmer scored a game-high 20 points for Drake (6-19, 1-12 MVC).
 
Outrebounded by double-digit margins in back-to-back games, WSU bounced back with a plus-nine effort on the glass. 13-different Shockers grabbed at least one rebound.
 
WSU held its second-straight opponent to less than 30 percent from the field, limiting the Bulldogs to 25 percent (11-of-44).
 
Drake – the MVC's most accurate three-point shooting team – connected on 4-of-18 attempts from deep.
 
Nearly half of Drake's 48 points came at the foul line, where it went 22-of-24
 
For the eighth time in 13 MVC games, WSU forced more turnovers (15) than its opponent had field goals (11).
 
WSU raced to a quick lead, scoring on its opening possession for the 14th time in 16 games on Brown's 15-footer.
 
Brown added a three-pointer, and Morris turned a pair of pretty feeds from Baker into baskets on the low the block. Wessel's triple from the left wing had WSU off and running to a 12-3 advantage.
 
Timmer helped breath life into Drake, scoring 11 of its first 16 points. He drained a trey, penetrated for two more, and artfully drew contact on a pair of three-point attempts, which he turned into six free throws.
 
After Timmer's mini-run, WSU took control on both ends of the floor. Drake missed its last 10 field goal attempts over the final 9:22 of the half and 15 of the last 16 overall.
 
WSU took advantage of the Bulldogs' offensive drought by outscoring them 27-5 over the remainder of the period to turn a 17-16 game into a 44-21 shellacking by halftime.
 
The Shockers shot 56.7 percent in the opening half and hit seven first-half threes on 12 attempts (.583) – one more than it made in 40 full minutes in Saturday's loss at Illinois State.
 
WSU shot 47.5 percent for the game.
 
Up Next:
The Shockers return home for three games in six days, beginning Saturday morning with an 11 a.m. CT tip against Northern Iowa ( on ESPN2. WSU defeated the Panthers last month in Cedar Falls, 74-55.
 
WSU hosts New Mexico State at 7 p.m. CT on Feb. 15 in a makeup of the postponed Dec. 28 matchup. Tickets to the original game will be honored. For questions contact the Shocker Ticket Office at (316) 978-FANS.