Wichita State defeated Illinois State 66-51 to advance to the Missouri Valley Conference Championship game. That game will be played at 1:05 Sunday afternoon on KWCH 12.
Carl Hall scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half to help spur Wichita State to the victory. Malcolm Armstead finished with 15 points for Wichita State.
The Shockers played excellent defense against the Redbirds, not allowing them to score a field goal until the 7:26 mark of the first half. The Shockers outrebounded Illinois State 48-31 for the game and finished with 7 steals. Wichita State had 32 offensive rebounds to the Redbirds' 19.
Jackie Carmichael, a Manhattan, Kansas native lead the Redbirds with 22 points and five rebounds, to go along with three blocks. No other Redbird scored in double figures.
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FIRST HALF
Wichita State went scoreless for almost the final 8 minutes of the first half but still leads Illinois State 26-24 at halftime.
Wichita State started the game on a 15-0 run and eventually led 17-1. The Shockers held the Redbirds scoreless from the field until the 7:26 mark in the first half. Illinois State managed to whittle away at the Shockers' lead with three three-pointers and a three point play by Jackie Carmichael.
Carmichael gave Illinois State its first lead of the game with less than a minute to play as the Redbirds went up 24-23. However Fred Van Vleet hit a three-pointer with 4 seconds left to give the Shockers the two-point advantage at the half.
