The final score was the biggest margin in the game for either team.
 Only once, through 40 minutes, did either team go ahead by as many as six points. The score was tied eight times, the lead changed hands 11 times, and most of the evening saw the home team nursing a margin between one and three points. But the Wichita State Shockers drew first blood in a five-minute overtime and outlasted the Missouri State Bears 70-62 in Missouri Valley Conference basketball action Tuesday night in Wichita, Kan.
  Wichita State came into the contest without a home conference win all year. The Bears came in without a victory on the road in league play. Something had to give. But, for the first 40 minutes, neither team was there to take it.
 With the game tied 57-57, the Bears got the opening tip in the extra period and had a good possession and a good shot. It just didn’t fall. WSU got two free throws from Phillip Thomasson and a trey from Gal Mekel to open a five-point lead at the 3:18 mark. Ramon Clemente hit one free throw for WSU to make it 63-57 before Chris Cooks answered for the Bears with a three-point play. That would be as close as the Bears got. Thomasson got loose for a layup, Mekel hit three free throws and P.J. Couisnard added an emphatic breakaway dunk just ahead of the final horn and WSU won by eight in a game which saw hardly a breath between the two teams most of the night.
 Spencer Laurie drained two long threes around the six-minute mark of the second half to give the Bears leads of 48-47 and 51-50. It was tied at 51 and 53 before Wichita State got two free throws from Clemente with 3:28 left. Cooks got one of those back at the 2:23 mark, and, in a wild flurry to close the second half, Wendell Preadom got loose for a layup before Dale Lamberth buried a trey to make it 57-57 with 15 seconds left. The Shockers wound up losing the ball before they could get a shot off ahead of the horn.
 The first half was much the same. WSU stretched its longest regulation lead to 24-18 with five minutes left before the Bears nudged back to within a point at the half, 28-27.
 With just seven healthy players available because of injury and illness, the Bears still had a shot at their first league road win. They suffered through a fourth straight sub-40 percent shooting night and were outrebounded 27-13 in the second half and 44-33 for the game. Wichita State shot just 43 percent but mixed in seven treys to the Bears’ four.
 Cooks scored a career-high 20 points to lead Missouri State and Lamberth added 18 while Dex Manswell had his first double-figure rebound effort with 10. Couisnard led four double-figure scorers for Wichita State with 18 points.
 Wichita State climbed to 2-8 in the Valley and 9-12 overall while the Bears dipped to 4-6 in MVC play and 11-11 for the season. Missouri State is now 0-5 in Valley road play and the Bears have dropped their last eight starts away from Hammons Student Center.
 Missouri State returns home to host Illinois State in MVC action Saturday (Feb. 2) at Hammons Student Center. Tipoff is 7:05 p.m.
