The Sports Xchange
Dec 22, 2017
Wichita State guard Landry Shamet scored a game-high 23 points and forward Darral Willis Jr. had 15 points and 13 rebounds in the 11th-ranked Shockers' 75-65 win over Florida Gulf Coast on Friday night at Wichita, Kan.
The Shockers (10-2) blocked 11 shots in the game, including five by Shaquille Morris and three by Rashard Kelly.
They also went to the free-throw line 26 times compared to only 10 for Florida Gulf Coast. Wichita State outscored the Eagles at the line 22-6.
Florida Gulf Coast (7-7) was led by Brandon Goodwin with 20 points and Zach Johnson with 19. No other of the Eagles scored in double figures.
Wichita State pulled away after Florida Gulf Coast tied the game at 61 following a layup by Brady Ernst with 4:48 left in the game.
A 3-pointer by Conner Frankamp -- increasing his streak to 33 straight games with at least one shot made beyond the arc -- put the Shockers ahead 70-62 with 1:10 left in the game. That shot capped a 9-1 game-deciding spurt.
Wichita State led by as many as 13 points in the first half but were ahead by only 35-33 at halftime. Florida Gulf Coast went on a 12-3 run to cut the lead to 33-31 with 3:42 left in the half. The Shockers did not make a field goal in the last 4:43 before halftime.
Wichita State had another cold spell early in the second half as the Shockers did not make a field goal from 16:33 left in regulation until 12:17.
During that span, Florida Gulf Coast went on a 13-0 run to take a 50-43 lead with 13:05 remaining. Goodwin scored the last seven points of that run.
The Shockers then scored seven unanswered points -- five of them by Jones -- to tie the game at 50 with 11:29 left.
NOTES: Four of Florida Gulf Coast's six losses entering the game have been by five points or fewer, and in all four of those games it has had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds. ... Entering the game, Wichita State's 12-game non-conference schedule was the nation's 29th toughest (according NCAA RPI calculations). The schedule includes nine games against 2017 postseason teams. The Shockers are 5-1 against teams that were in the NCAA Tournament last year, including Florida Gulf Coast. ... After not making double-figure 3-pointers in any of its first 10 games, Florida Gulf Coast made 10, 11 and 11 in three straight games before making nine against the Shockers.