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No. 16 Wichita St beats Drake 66-58 in MVC opener

Sports

January 1st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Ron Baker scored 23 points, including 13 straight down the stretch, and 16th-ranked Wichita State opened league play with a 66-58 win over Drake on Wednesday. Tekele Cotton had 17 points for the Shockers (11-2, 1-0 MVC), who answered a Christmas Day loss to George Washington with their 22nd straight Missouri Valley conference victory.

But Wichita State struggled for much of the night against the team with the worst record in the Valley. The Shockers didn’t take their first double-digit lead, 56-46, until there was 5:49 left. Baker’s layup with 1:02 remaining gave Wichita State a 64-57 lead, and Drake turned it over on the next possession.

Jacob Enevold had 12 points with 15 rebounds for Drake (3-10). The Bulldogs shot just 33 percent from the field.