CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – A second-half surge helped Wichita State fend off Northern Iowa, 80-66, for its seventh consecutive road victory.
 
WSU (14-3, 4-0 MVC) averaged just 51 points on 34 percent shooting in two late season losses to UNI last year. In Sunday's grudge match, the Shockers looked much more at ease on offense, hitting 49 percent from the field and 11-of-20 from deep.
 
When UNI (5-10, 0-4 MVC) surged to within two points near the 12-minute mark, WSU simply scored its way out of danger, coming away with points on 10 if its next 11 possessions to build the lead back up to 17.
 
Landry Shamet scored 14 of his game-high 17 points in the first half and finished the game with five three-pointers.
 
Rauno Nurger and Conner Frankamp provided a lift off the bench with 13 and 11 points respectively. Nurger made 6-of-7 shots, including a three-pointer, and also snagged four rebounds. Frankamp went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
 
Markis McDuffie scored eight points to go along with a team-high five rebounds, but was one of a number of Shockers hampered by foul trouble. McDuffie and Willis – the team's top two scorers this year – combined for just 39 minutes.
 
Four Panthers finished in double-figures, led by Jeremy Morgan's 15. Klint Carlson collected a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
 
In a seesaw start that featured 10 lead changes in the first 10 minutes, Shamet helped swing the momentum with a 90-second flurry that saw him sandwich a steal and fastbreak dunk between a pair of three-pointers. His personal 8-0 run gave WSU the lead for good, 22-18, at the 9:49-mark.
 
Not without a couple of stiff challenges from UNI.
 
Shocker big men went down like dominoes in the first half. McDuffie picked up his second foul at 11:53 and was followed to the bench by Willis (11:18), Shaquille Morris (8:38), Nurger (5:34), Eric Hamilton (1:37) and Zach Brown (1:26) with two fouls each.
 
UNI closed to within a point in the final minute of the first half, but the Shockers came up with back-to-back triples, courtesy of Austin Reaves and Frankamp to build the lead back to 39-32 heading into the intermission.
 
The Shockers made 7-of-14 shots from deep in the first half.
 
WSU went up 11 early in the second half, but UNI scored eight straight to eventually close the gap to 49-47 with 12:25 to go. During that stretch, the Shockers went nearly six minutes without a field goal.
 
The Shockers went nearly six minutes without a field goal but stopped the bleeding with four free throws in consecutive trips. Kelly broke the drought when a UNI player saved the ball on the baseline underneath the Shocker goal, directly into his arms for an easy lay-in and a 54-47 WSU lead near the midway point.
 
Nurger scored with another nice post move to grow the lead back to eight.
 
Jordan Ashton's three made it a five-point game at 9:13, 55-50, but then it was the Panthers' turn to go cold. Their next field goal didn't come until a Luke McConnel three at the 3:06-mark. By then, WSU had built its lead back up to 18.
 
Threes by Shamet, Frankamp and Nurger helped bust the game wide open.
 
WSU claimed back-to-back wins at Northern Iowa for only the third time in program history. The Shockers have never won three-straight there.
 
Next Up:
Shockers will host Loyola (12-5, 2-2 MVC) on Wednesday evening at Charles Koch Arena. The 6 p.m. CT tip will air statewide on Cox Channel Kansas with simulcast on MVC Television Network affiliates, including Fox Sports Midwest, Fox Sports Indiana and Comcast SportsNet Chicago (blacked out in Wichita and Kansas City).