WICHITA, Kan. - Behind a pair of double-doubles from the Shocker big men Kenny Pohto and Quincy Ballard, Wichita State cruised to a 74-53 exhibition win over Rogers State Sunday afternoon in Charles Koch Arena.

Wichita State led by just four at halftime, but outscored the Hillcats by 17 in the second half to win convincingly in first year head coach Paul Mills' home debut.

Pohto led all scorers and rebounders with 14 points and 11 rebounds on 6-of-9 shooting and committing zero turnovers in 25 minutes. Pohto's 11 boards tied for the second most in an exhibition game. Ballard controlled the undersized Hillcats to the tune of 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots. His three blocks tied a Wichita State exhibition game record.

Xavier Bell scored 11 of his 13 points before halftime, while dishing out five assists and grabbing four rebounds. Dalen Ridgnal knocked down a trio of three-pointers to finish with 11 points off the bench.

Wichita State outrebounded Rogers State 54-27, including 18 offensive rebounds leading to 24 second chance points.

Neither team put on a shooting clinic behind the three-point line with the two teams going a combined 8-for-36. Rogers State shot just 33.9 percent overall.

The Shockers led by 10 near the halfway point of the first half, but Rogers State hung around and went into the locker room trailing by just four, 34-30.

A 13-4 run to open the second half effectively put the game out of reach the rest of the way as Wichita State led by double digits nearly all of the final 15 minutes. Harlond Beverly keyed the opening spurt with back-to-back transition scores. 

After a scoreless first 20 minutes, Beverly got it going after halftime, scoring all eight of his points. Beverly and the two big men (Pohto and Ballard) made the most of the second half, dominating inside.

Up Next
Wichita State opens its 117th season on Monday, Nov. 6 vs. Lipscomb at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.