CHARLESTON, S.C. – Markis McDuffie scored 15 of his team-high 24 points over the final six minutes to lead Wichita State past Appalachian State, 82-76, Friday night in the consolation bracket of the Charleston Invitational.
 
WSU (2-2) will face Alabama (3-1) in Sunday's fifth-place game beginning at 12:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
 
McDuffie finished with 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He was 4-of-6 from three.
 
Jaime Echenique logged WSU's first double-double of the year, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Jamarius Burton and Samajae Haynes-Jones scored 14 points each. Burton added six assists with just two turnovers. Erik Stevenson snagged a personal-best nine rebounds to go with six points, three assists and two steals.
 
WSU trailed 66-61 with 6:18 to go when its senior leader took over. McDuffie scored points on four of the next five Shocker possessions. His three at the 6:03-mark made it a two-point game. Another with 4:08 to go put WSU back in front, 69-68.
 
The Shockers led the rest of the way. McDuffie nailed his third-straight triple to make it 72-68. His layup pushed the lead to five, 75-70, with 1:45 to go.
 
Appalachian State scored on its next three possession to make a game of it. After a Shocker turnover, the Mountaineers had a chance to tie or take the lead in the final 30 seconds. Ronshad Shabazz missed a jumper with 12 seconds showing, and Stevenson snagged the rebound, forcing the Mountaineers to foul.
 
Stevenson hit the first of two free throws for a three-point lead but came up empty on the second. McDuffie grabbed a crucial offensive rebound for the Shockers with 10 seconds on the clock, then calmly sank two free throws to put the game on ice.
 
WSU trailed 31-25 near the 7:00-mark of the first half but closed the period with a 19-4 push. The Shockers held the Mountaineers to just one field goal over the final 7:27 before halftime and led 44-35 heading into the locker room.
 
Notable:
*WSU avoided its first 1-3 start since the 2007-08 season – Marshall's first year at WSU.
*In its two wins, WSU has averaged 82.5 points, shot 50.4 percent from the field and made exactly half of its three-point attempts (21-of-42), with McDuffie averaging 28.0 points.
*In its two losses, WSU has averaged 55.5 points while shooting 33.6 percent from the floor. They're 15-of-55 (.273) from deep.
*The Shockers were outrebounded by 11 in the season-opener against Louisiana Tech but have won the battle on the boards in each of their last three games. They outrebounded Appalachian State 35-29.
 
Up Next:
The Shockers will face Alabama for the sixth time in nine seasons. WSU is 3-2 during that stretch, which began with a Shocker win in the 2011 NIT. WSU swept a home-and-home series in 2013-14 and 2014-15. Alabama won the most recent meeting in the 2015 Advocare Invitational in Orlando.