WICHITA, Kan. - Dillon Battie recorded a double-double and a career-high 27 points to help Wichita State pull away from Austin Peay in the second half for a 76-60 win in Charles Koch Arena.
Wichita State (3-1) knocked down 12 three-pointers, one game after breaking the single game school record with 17 against Friends. On the flip side, Wichita State held Austin Peay to just 3-of-19 (15.8 percent). Through the first four games Wichita State is holding its opponents to 20.3 percent from beyond the arc (16-for-79).
Battie registered his first double-double of the season behind 27 points and 11 rebounds. It marked his second career 20-point game.
William Berg returned to the lineup and produced 13 points and nine rebounds.
Jordan Frison just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine assists.
Wichita State was able to win comfortably despite
Kenyon Giles going scoreless on just field goal attempts.
Austin Peay jumped out to an early advantage, taking a 17-16 lead with 7:21 remaining in the first half. Wichita State responded behind Battie, who knocked down a three-pointer at 6:21 before scoring on a second-chance opportunity to put the Shockers back in front.
Battie continued to provide a spark inside, finishing an alley-oop from
Jahari Long with 4:23 remaining. Berg followed with a dunk, and Heard connected from beyond the arc to push the Wichita State advantage to 29-24.
Frison added a pair of free throws before knocking down a three-pointer with 2:18 remaining, giving the Shockers their largest lead of the half at 34-26. Austin Peay scored once more at the free-throw line before Wichita State carried a 34-27 advantage into the break.
Battie led all scorers at halftime with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Wichita State shot 43.3 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes while limiting Austin Peay to 27.6 percent.
Wichita State continued to build its lead coming out of the locker room. Battie scored on a jumper and a layup in the opening two minutes, and Heard buried a three-pointer at 16:40 to push the advantage to 41-33.
Berg connected from beyond the arc at 15:06, and Battie scored again inside to make it 46-33. Frison followed with a three-pointer, and his driving layup helped Wichita State maintain its momentum.
Gray Jr. knocked down another three-pointer at 11:08 before
Joy Ighovodja connected from deep at 10:10.
Emmanuel Okorafor added a layup less than a minute later, giving the Shockers a commanding 60-38 lead with 9:37 remaining.
Austin Peay made a push, scoring eight consecutive points to cut the deficit to 60-46. Battie stopped the run with a second-chance layup at 6:31 and converted both free throws moments later to restore an 18-point cushion.
Berg added back-to-back baskets inside, including a turnaround jumper at 4:51, while Long connected from three-point range with 3:14 remaining to make it 71-51.
Berg grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on a tip-in with 2:27 left, and Battie capped his outstanding night with a three-pointer in the closing seconds to seal the victory.
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