SPRINGFIELD -- Wichita State has forced 10 Missouri State turnovers and held the Bears to 26-percent shooting from the field to take a commanding 37-18 lead into the halftime intermission at JQH Arena.
The battle of Missouri Valley Conference squads currently in a five-way tie for second in the league took a turn for the worse at the 9:35 mark when Clevin Hannah hit a short floater to push the Shockers ahead, 15-8. WSU then reeled off 10 unanswered points to lead 25-8 before a pair of free throws by Jermaine Mallett stopped the bleeding and made it a 15-point deficit.
MSU would make another run later in the half on a short jumper by Kyle Weems and break-away dunk by Mallett made the score 29-16 with just 3:54 to go before the half.
However, the Shockers ended the first stanza on an 8-2 run to finish 15-for-37 (.405) from the field in the first 20 minutes. WSU also outrebounded the Bears 24-16 while committing just six turnovers. Coach Gregg Marshalls team was 5-of-14 from beyond the arc.
Hannah scored 10 points to lead WSU into the break.
Missouri State was led by Mallett with eight points, while Weems scored 4, and Will Creekmore currently shares game-high rebounding honors with 4. MSU was 6-for-23 from the field and 0-for-6 from three-point range.
