DES MOINES, IOWA - A nearly 52 percent (.519) shooting mark proved too much
for Drake to overcome as Wichita State registered a 68-54 victory past the
Bulldogs on Saturday (Jan. 15) in the Knapp Center.
Drake dropped its third straight decision to fall to 7-11 on
the year, including 2-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while the Shockers
improved their ledger to 16-3 overall and 6-1 in league play.
Freshman Rayvonte Rice (Champaign, Ill./Centennial) and sophomore Ben Simons (Cadillac,
Mich./Cadillac) led Drake with 11- and 10-point performances,
respectively. Redshirt freshman David Smith (Chicago,
Ill./Lake Forest Academy) added a career-high seven-point outing off the bench.
Three Wichita State players finished with double-figure
efforts, led by Aaron Ellis with 12 points, while Demetric Williams and David
Kyles added 11 and 10 points, respectively. JT Durley pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for the
Shockers.
Rebounding proved to play a huge role in the game as Wichita
State limited Drake to a season-low 20 rebounds en route to registering a 45-20
rebounding edge. The rebounds
resulted in only 7-6 advantage in second-chance points, but the Shockers' cause
was strengthened by its bench outscoring the Bulldogs, 37-17.
Drake finished the affair shooting 40 percent from the
floor, while Wichita State registered a 51.9 percent mark.
The Shockers jumped out to an 11-4 advantage in the affair
before the Bulldogs began to slow chip away at the deficit.
Trailing 15-9 with 13:24 to play, Drake went on an 11-2 run
over the next 7:52 to assume its first lead of the evening, 18-17, on a jumper
by Rice with 6:21 left in the half.
Fueling the surge was seven points from senior Ryan Wedel (Minneapolis, Kan./Minneapolis).
The Bulldogs maintained the lead until a jumper by Ellis at
the 1:22 mark put the Shockers ahead to stay, 28-27. Wichita State entered the intermission leading Drake, 32-27.
The Bulldogs connected on 41.7 percent of their first-half
shots as compared to a 53.8 percent shooting mark by the Shockers.
Drake started the final 20 minutes on a 7-3 run to cut the
deficit to 35-34 after a jumper by Rice with 17:43 remaining.
Wichita State answered scoring 24 of the next 30 points to
assume a 59-40 lead, one it didn't relinquish en route to collecting the
victory.
The Bulldogs return to action on Tuesday (Jan. 18) hosting
Illinois State at 7:06 p.m.
