Recap: Wichita State vs. Evansville
Wichita, KS (Sports Network) - Colt Ryan poured in 29 points to lead the Evansville Purple Aces to a 59-56 upset victory of the Wichita State Shockers in a Missouri Valley Conference thriller at Charles Koch Arena.
Ryan went 10-of-18 from the field for Evansville (17-13, 9-8 MVC) as it picked up its first win in Wichita in 12 years. Troy Taylor dealt out six assists as seven of the nine Purple Aces who saw the floor made a mark in the scoring column.
Tekele Cotton paced the Shockers (24-6, 12-6) with 12 points and nine rebounds while Cleanthony Early tallied 10 points off the bench. Although all 10 of the Wichita State players who saw action scored at least two points, the team shot just 38.2 percent from the floor as a unit.
The Purple Aces jumped out to a 19-6 lead just under seven minutes after tip- off before they took a 38-28 lead into the intermission. Wichita State trailed by a double-digit margin at the break despite outscoring the visitors, 16-4, in the paint in the opening 20 minutes.
The Shockers fought back in the second half and led, 53-49, with 8:05 left in regulation. Evansville responded with six consecutive points to go back in front. Neither side registered a single point for the final 3:28 as Early, Cotton and Carl Hall all missed game-tying 3-point tries in the final minute.
Although it lost, Wichita State held a sizeable 42-23 edge in the rebounding battle. Evansville outscored the Shockers, 24-12, from beyond the arc.
The Shockers will square off with Creighton on Saturday for the MVC regular season title.
Game Notes
