Box Score MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Wichita State moved on to the semifinals of the 2019 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Championship with an 80-74 win over No. 3 seed Temple. The Shockers will face No. 2 seed Cincinnati at 4 p.m. on Sat., March 16.
 
Markis McDuffie led the Shockers with a career-high 34 points and also had 12 rebounds. Dexter Dennis also added a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
 
The Shockers have now won 11 of their last 13 and are on a season-high six-game winning streak.
 
WSU is now 3-1 all-time in AAC Tournament games and the Shockers are in the semifinal round of a conference tournament for the 10^th-straight year.
 
Head Coach Gregg Marshall collected his 499^th career win in the victory and has now coached in the semifinals of a conference tournament in 18 of 21 seasons.
 
Temple started the game on a 6-0 run before McDuffie answered with a three and Echenique with a layup to pull within 6-5.
 
The Owls held a 12-10 lead at the first media timeout with McDuffie and Echenique combining for all 10 Shocker points.
 
Dexter Dennis' dunk cut the lead to 13-12 and an Erik Stevenson three tied the score at 17 with under 12 minutes in the half.
 
A 5-0 run put Temple back up 22-17, but a three by Haynes-Jones tied it at 22. Two McDuffie free throws gave the Shocks the lead at 26-25 with 6:24 left in the first half.
 
Pierre-Louis answered with a three-point play to give Temple a 28-26 lead and Alston's three pushed the lead to 33-26. The Owl defense held the Shockers without a point for almost four minutes.
 
A McDuffie three and two Poor Bear-Chandler free throws cut the lead to 34-33 with a little over a minute left. The Shockers took a 35-34 lead on two McDuffie free throws, but Alston's three-pointer right before the buzzer gave the Owls a 37-35 lead at the break.
 
Alston finished with 18 first half points, while McDuffie had 15.
 
In the second half, Haynes-Jones hit a three for a 44-41 lead but Temple answered with five-straight for a 46-44 lead.
 
McDuffie's three put WSU back in front 47-46 and a Dennis three increased the lead to 50-46. The Owls came back to take a 56-54 lead after a three, but a Midtgaard dunk tied it at 56 and a Dennis three-point play put the Shockers up 59-56 with 10:17 left in the game.
 
The Shockers held Temple scoreless for over four minutes, while going on an 11-0 run.
 
Moorman's three pulled Temple within 71-68, but McDuffie answered with two free throws to make the score 73-68.
 
Three free throws from Temple cut the Shocker lead to two at 73-71.
 
Haynes-Jones layup gave WSU a 75-71 lead and Dennis' two free throws pushed it to 77-71 before the Shockers finished off the game with an 80-74 win.
 
The Shockers are next in action on Sat., March 16 against No. 2 seed Cincinnati at 4 p.m. on ESPN2.