No. 24 Wichita State beats Missouri State 73-58

WICHITA, Kan. — Seven-foot center Garrett Stutz hit four 3-pointers and scored 21 points to lead No. 24 Wichita State to a 73-58 victory over Missouri State on Wednesday night, the Shockers’ fifth straight win that clinched at least a tie for the Missouri Valley Conference title.

Stutz, who entered the game with six 3-pointers, finished 7 of 8 from the field and had 10 rebounds for the Shockers (23-4, 14-2), who were playing their first game as a ranked team since 2006-07. David Kyles added 12 points for Wichita State, 10 coming in a decisive second-half run.

Wichita State has won 13 of 14, the only loss coming in triple-overtime at Drake.

Anthony Downing had 17 points and Caleb Patterson added 14 for Missouri State (16-12, 9-7), which had a three-game winning streak snapped.

Wichita State led by as many as 10 points in the first half but Missouri State closed the half on a 12-4 run to trail 34-32.

Kyles scored 10 points and had two 3-pointers in less than 3 minutes during the 15-3 run that gave Wichita State a 56-42 lead with 10:17 remaining. The Bears never threatened after that.

Wichita State made 8 of 9 shots during one first-half stretch, and Stutz hit three 3-pointers in helping build a 30-20 lead.

Consecutive 3-pointers from Downing and Nathan Scheer sparked a 12-2 run that pulled Missouri State even at 32-all with 35 seconds to play in the half. Two free throws by Kyles gave Wichita State a slim 34-32 halftime lead despite shooting 60 percent.

Stutz scored two quick baskets on a tip-in and dunk, and Demetric Williams swished a transition 3-pointer. Just 92 seconds into the half, the Shockers led 41-32 and forced a Missouri State timeout.

But the Bears went on another run to stay close, as Isaiah Rhine’s baseline jumper giving Missouri State seven straight points to get within two.

The Shockers answered with 3-pointers from Williams and Kyles, followed by a layup by Kyles off a steal by Joe Ragland — eight straight points in 60 seconds to put Wichita State ahead 49-39 with 12:39 remaining.

Kyles made a contested 3-pointer and weaved his way through traffic for a transition floater with 10:17 to play, increasing the lead to 56-42.

Kyles had 10 points in less than 3 minutes, a point better than his season average.

Three-pointers from Ragland and Stutz in an 18-second span made it 64-47 with 6:48 remaining.