kwch.com/sports/kwch-early-hits-the-gamewinner-as-the-shocks-edge-illinois-state-20130217,0,1019220.story

kwch.com

Early hits the game-winner as the Shocks edge Illinois State

By: Jenn Bates

KWCH 12 Eyewitness Sports

10:14 PM CST, February 17, 2013

{NORMAL, IL.}

Advertisement

He hadn't hit much of anything except Illinois State players up until that point, but in the final seconds of Sunday night's game Cleanthony Early became the hero.  Early's three-point basket with 4 seconds left put the Shockers up by 1 and eventually turned into the game-winner.  

Early was barren from the field in the first half and scored all 12 of his points in the second.  He may have had the late-game heroics but it was Malcolm Armstead who kept the Shockers in the game.  Armstead helped spark a 9-0 run by the Shockers in the second half to cut the Redbirds' lead to 4.  His 18 points and 6 assists paced Wichita State on the night.

The Shockers were abysmal in the first half.  They went about 7 minutes without scoring and were down by double-digits to Illinois State for most of the game.  The Redbirds weren't shooting much better but they were connecting on their free throws and took a 7 point lead into the half.

The Shocker defense held strong in the second half not allowing Illinois State to score a field goal for the final 6:15 of the game.

The Shockers now travel to Terre Haute for a game at Indiana State on Tuesday night.