Wichita State's platoon of centers loomed large in an 82-63 victory over Alcorn State, Tuesday evening at Charles Koch Arena.
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Morris Udeze scored a team-high 15 points and grabbed six rebounds, while freshman
Kenny Pohto set new personal-bests with 14 points and eight boards and three steals in 19 minutes off the bench.
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The Shockers (8-2) outscored the smaller Braves 46-16 in the paint and enjoyed a 43-30 rebounding advantage, helped by 19 offensive boards.
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Oddyst Walker scored 16 points to lead Alcorn (1-8) which was playing the ninth in a string of 16-consecutive road games to open the season.
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The Shockers extended their Roundhouse winning streak to 14 games and set season-highs for points (82) and assists (20). They shot 46.3 percent from the field.
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Ricky Council IV added 12 points and go with 11 from
Dexter Dennis. Point guard
Craig Porter Jr. handed out six assists in 19 turnover-free minutes.
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Playing in just his 62
nd career game,
Tyson Etienne connected on his 150
th three-pointer, becoming the fastest Shocker to reach that milestone – seven games ahead of Landry Shamet's school-record pace from four years ago.
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The Shockers put forth their best scoring half of the young season with 44 first-half points on 51.6 percent shooting. They took a 14-point lead into the locker room.
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Alcorn hit a series of jumpers and pulled within seven on Walker's three-pointer with 13:04 to play in the game, 55-48.
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The Shockers immediately answered with a 17-5 push, fueled by second-chance points. Pohto twice scored on tip-ins and Council and
Chaunce Jenkins each added putbacks.
WSU finished the second half with 13 offensive rebounds and a 27-17 edge on the glass.
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Pohto's basket with 2:03 to play gave the Shockers their largest lead of the night (and of the season) at 22 points.
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ALSO NOTABLE:
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Helped by Pohto and Council, the Shocker bench scored a season-best 40 points.
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The Shockers led for all but the first 40 seconds of the game.
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Udeze scored in double-figures for the fifth-consecutive game. That's the longest string of his four-year Shocker career.
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The 19-point win matched WSU's largest margin of victory against a Division I opponent in parts of two seasons under
Isaac Brown. The other was a 72-53 home win over Tulsa on Jan. 13 of last season.
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WSU improved 2-0 all-time against Alcorn State. Both victories have come in Wichita.
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The Shockers have been 8-2 or better at the 10-game mark in 10 of the last 13 seasons.
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WSU is now 14-0 under Brown when it out-rebounds its opponent (6-0 this year).
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UP NEXT:
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WSU returns to the hardwood Saturday afternoon against North Texas State at Charles Koch Arena. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. CT on ESPN+. Tickets are still available at goshockers.com/Tickets or by calling 316-978-FANS (3267).