STORRS, Conn. -- Freshman Jamarius Burton scored a career-high 16 points but Wichita State couldn't keep pace with hot-shooting UConn in an 80-60 loss Saturday evening at sold-out Gampel Pavilion.
 
UConn (12-8, 3-4 American) shot an even 50 percent for the game and knocked down 11-of-24 three-point tries.
 
The Shockers (8-11, 1-6 American) missed their first 10 attempts and finished at 33.8 percent on 22-of-65 shooting (4-of-16 from long range).
 
Burton had eight points in both halves to lead WSU. He hit 6-of-12 shots in 29 minutes.
 
Fellow freshman Erik Stevenson added 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting in 22 minutes of work.
 
Markis McDuffie was held under 10 points for the first time since the season-opener. His streak of 17-straight double-figure games was the Marshall Era's second-longest. McDuffie connected just once from beyond the arc on six attempts, ending another streak of nine-straight games with multiple threes (one shy of the school record).
 
Christian Vital hit four first-half treys for the host Huskies on his way to a game-high 21 points. Jalen Adams tacked on a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
 
UConn finished +15 on the glass (47-32).
 
WSU was plus-four in the turnover column after committing just eight – one more than its season low set back in November against Alabama.
 
WSU fell into a 10-0 hole in the game's opening minutes and never recovered. Its first field goal didn't come until the 12:59-mark. UConn led by as many as 18 points (30-12, 5:25) before halftime.
 
Burton scored seven-straight points to jumpstart the Shocker offense, and the visitors succeeded in knocking the lead down to 12 in the final seconds before halftime on McDuffie's three-point play and a Stevenson putback.
 
UConn seized back momentum when Vital sank a desperation three-point heave ahead of the buzzer to send the Huskies into the break with a more-comfortable 43-28 edge.
 
Burton led WSU with eight first-half points, and McDuffie and Dexter Dennis suppled six-each.
 
UConn upped the margin to 21 early in the second half before WSU made one last push. Back-to-back Burton buckets and a Haynes-Jones field goal trimmed the lead to 60-48 with 10:28 to play.
 
The Huskies countered with a 14-2 push to put the game on ice.
 
NOTABLE:
***The Shockers are three-games under .500 for the first time since Jan. 28, 2009 (9-12 after a loss at Bradley.
***WSU is 2-2 all-time against UConn (2-1 in The American Era).
***The Shockers are 0-6 in true road games.
 
UP NEXT:
The Shockers play a pair of home games next week against SMU (Wednesday, 8 p.m., ESPNU) and Tulsa (Saturday, 1 p.m., ESPNU or EPSN2). Single-game tickets are available for both dates at GoShockers.com/MBBTickets or through the Shocker Ticket Office at 316-978-FANS.