COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Wichita State used a strong defensive effort to subdue Missouri, 61-55, Friday evening at Mizzou Arena.
 
Playing in their first true road game of the season, the Shockers (5-1) never trailed. They used an 8-0 run to build an 11-point lead near the midway point of the second half and remained in control the rest of the way.
 
WSU improved to 6-2 on the road under second-year head coach Isaac Brown and scored its first-ever victory over Mizzou. The Tigers defeated the Shockers last December at Charles Koch Arena and had won three other meetings in the early 1950s.

"In my eight years at Wichita State, we've been one of the better road teams in the country, but it wasn't about our offense," Brown said. "In order to be a team that can go out and get a win you've got to defend, rebound and play with toughness. And we executed tonight."
 
Tyson Etienne scored 13 of his game-high 18 points in the second half. He finished 7-of-17 from the field and knocked 3-of-9 three-point attempts.
 
WSU's platoon of centers also enjoyed a productive night with starter Morris Udeze tallying 15 points and five rebounds to go with Kenny Pohto's 10 points and seven boards. The pair combined to sink 10-of-14 shots, helped by five dunks.
 
The Shockers finished with a 41-35 advantage on the glass, with Craig Porter Jr. and Ricky Council IV grabbing seven rebounds apiece to share the team lead with Pohto. Porter also blocked two shots and dished out a team-best four assists in 26 minutes.
 
Amari Davis topped the scoring for Mizzou with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting.
 
For the fourth time in six games, WSU held its opponent under 60 points.
 
Mizzou (3-3) shot just 34.8 percent from the field and missed 16 of its 18 three-point attempts. From the 7:28-mark of the first half through the midway point of the second, the Tigers went 4-of-29 from the field.
 
WSU shot 46.9 percent and connected on 6-of-17 three-point tries.
 
The Shockers had won the turnover battle in each of their first five contests, but committed 18 miscues to Mizzou's 12 and made just 9-of-20 free throws.
 

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FIRST HALF:
 
The Shockers scored the game's first seven points and led by scores of 10-2 and 13-4.
 
Etienne, Dexter Dennis and Joe Pleasant all hit threes in the first three minutes of the game, but WSU went 0-for-7 from deep over the remainder of the half.
 
Mizzou recovered from a slow offensive start to get back in the game. After missing seven of their first nine shots, the Tigers connected on six of their next seven. Jarron Coleman banked in a layup high off the glass to cut the Shocker lead to 18-16 with 8:15 to go in the period.
 
Pleasant fed Udeze for a dunk to briefly slow the run, but those were the only Shocker points over a span of seven minutes.
 
Mizzou's Javon Pickett tied the game at 20 on a three-point play with 3:38 remaining in the half.
 
Pohto scored the next four points on two free throws and a tip-in, and WSU led for the remainder of the half.
 
Mizzou had a free throw in the air that would have tied the game at 24, but Kobe Brown's attempt missed short. Qua Grant stuck a driving layup ahead of the halftime horn, and the Shockers went into the break with a 26-23 cushion.
 
Seven different Shockers scored at least a point, led by Pohto's six.
 
WSU shot just 37.5% but held Mizzou to 32.3%. The hosts missed all five three-point tries.
 

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SECOND HALF:
 
Mizzou scored the first three points of the half.
 
Coleman's free throw tied the game at 26 with 17:55 to play, but he missed a second opportunity that would have given Mizzou its first lead of the night.
 
On the opposite end, Etienne drilled a three and Udeze scored on a putback to swing momentum the Shockers' way.
 
WSU used an 8-0 run to take its first double-digit lead, 41-30 at the 11:00-mark. Etienne scored the first and last baskets and assisted Pohto on a pick-and-roll dunk.
 
The Shockers strung together a series of defensive stops, holding Mizzou without a basket for more than six minutes.
 
The Tigers picked up the scoring with 25 points over the last 10 minutes of the game, but the Shockers always had answers. Pohto and Udeze combined for four dunks over the final 12:07 off a series of set-pieces. The last made it a 13-point game with 2:35 to go.
 
Etienne made a tough floater for a 59-46 advantage with 1:30 remaining in the game.
 
The Shockers missed 4-of-6 free throw tries in the final 55 seconds, including the front-end of two different 1-and-1 opportunities, allowing the Tigers to narrow the final margin to half-a-dozen.
 

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NOTABLE:
 
Five of the Shockers' six games have been decided by two-possessions in either direction (six points). WSU's four wins is tied for the national lead.
 
In two seasons under Brown, WSU has won 14 times by six-points-or-less. That total leads the nation ahead of Western Kentucky (13), Oklahoma State (12) and UCLA (11).
 
Etienne moved into 12^th place on WSU's career three-point field goal list (143), passing Fred VanVleet. He needs just one more to match Paul Guffrovich for 11^th.
 
Grant has recorded at least one steal in each of the first six games. He has a team-high 10 for the year.
 
Etienne has made at least one free throw in 29-consecutive games going back to his freshman season. It's the longest Shocker streak since the 2003-04 season when teammates Jamar Howard and Randy Burns finished out runs of 58 and 29 games respectively.
 
WSU improved to 7-5 against Mizzou head coach Cuonzo Martin (1-1 and Mizzou, 1-1 at Tennessee and 5-3 at Missouri State).
 
The Shockers have won their last three SEC road games (Last January at Ole Miss and in 2013 at Alabama).
 

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UP NEXT:

The Shockers continue on the road next Wednesday, Dec. 1 at Oklahoma State (7 p.m. CT, ESPN+).