Jan 06, 2025
WICHITA, Kan. (GoShockers) – South Florida led from start to finish in a resounding 91-72 win in Wichita State’s American Athletic Conference home opener Monday night in Charles Koch Arena.Wichita State (10-5, 0-2) surrendered 90-plus points for the second straight game and allowed the Bulls to shoot 57 percent from the field, a season high for an opponent.South Florida outscored the Shockers by 27 beyond the arc, whereas the Bulls converted 12-of-26 attempts (46 percent) compared to just 3-of-20 (15 percent) for Wichita State.The Shockers had just 12 turnovers on the night, but the Bulls made them pay on every single one of them. USF scored 18 points off those miscues.Xavier Bell scored a team-high 19 points, extending his double-figure scoring streak to seven in a row. He was 5-for-9 from the field and 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Corey Washington recorded his third double-double of the season behind 15 points and 11 rebounds. He also added a career-high five steals and a pair of blocks.Quincy Ballard came up one rebound shy of his fourth straight double-double with 13 points and 9 rebounds. Justin Hill chipped in 11 points on 3-of-14 shooting.A sign of things to come on the night, USF scored the game’s first six points in the first 30 seconds, all from Jayden Reid. Reid was fouled on a three-point attempt and then turned around with a steal and three-pointer.A Ballard tip-in with 18:17 left in the half made it 8-5, and that’s as close as it would get the rest of the night. The Bulls grabbed their first double-digit lead of the night, 18-7, with 14:15 left in the half.With 9:10 to go until halftime, USF had already put 30 points on the board and built a 30-15 lead.The Bulls would take a 48-30 lead into the locker room, the second-largest halftime deficit of the season, trailing only the Florida game (19).To begin the second half, Wichita State came out with some energy that it didn’t display in the first 20 minutes. Seven straight points cut the deficit to 11, forcing a USF timeout, but like most of the night, USF had an answer to squash any threat of a comeback.A 7-2 spurt pushed the margin right back to 16.Another Wichita State push had the Bulls’ lead down to 10 with a chance to cut it to eight at the free throw line, but a pair of missed free throws turned into a 9-0 USF response in the blink of an eye to make it 68-49.Wichita State’s last push came with 7:42 remaining. Over the next minute, Wichita State would trim it to 10 one last time behind seven straight points on a Hill three-pointer and back-to-back scores from Harlond Beverly.But the Bulls would come right back with a knockout punch, scoring eight in a row, effectively putting the game on ice.Up Next Wichita State heads to UTSA for the first time ever on Saturday, Jan. 11, for a 3 p.m. tip on ESPN+. GoShockers contributed to this report.
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