WICHITA, Kan. (GoShockers.com) – Kansas City led for all but seven minutes of game time in a 74-64 win over Wichita State Tuesday night in Charles Koch Arena.
Wichita State (8-3) trailed by 14 at halftime and as many as 23 in the second half to the 6-7 Roos out of the Summit League. This is the second straight season Wichita State has suffered a loss to a program out of the Summit League (South Dakota State in 2023).
Xavier Bell scored a game-high 21 points on a night when he reached 1,000 career points. He was 9-for-15 from the floor. Justin Hill added 12 points.
Wichita State suffered its worst shooting performance of the season from three-point range, missing 16-of-19 attempts (15.8 percent). For the second straight game the free throw line haunted the Shockers, going 13-for-24 (54.2 percent). Over the last two games Wichita State is 26-for-46 from the line (56.5 percent).
Defensively, Wichita State allowed the opposing team to shoot better than 50 percent from the field. Kansas City finished at 52.8 percent.
Wichita State committed only six turnovers compared to Kansas City’s 14 and outscored the Roos off turnovers, 21-4. Most of those came late in the second half when the Shockers started pressing to get back into the game.
Kansas City outrebounded the Shockers by seven, including 10 offensive rebounds.
The Shockers took a 7-5 lead with 13:47 left in the first half, but would not lead again. One of Kansas City’s eight three-pointers on the night put the Roos in front with 13:15 remaining in the half and would not look back.
Their lead grew to double digits for the first time with 10:23 to go in the first half. The Shockers pulled back within three behind a 9-2 spurt, but a 17-6 run sent the Roos into the locker room with a 38-24 cushion.
The Roos pushed the margin to 23 with 5:39 to go, seemingly putting the game away, but Wichita State wouldn’t pack it in. A frantic final push saw the Shockers trim the deficit to nine in the blink of an eye.
With the crowd finally involved Wichita State couldn’t get out of its own way, missing free throws and giving up key offensive rebounds.
Up Next
Wichita State and Kansas State square off in the Roundhouse Saturday night at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
