COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Sean East II finished with 22 points and nine assists, Nick Honor scored 15 and Missouri pulled away late to beat Wichita State 82-72 on Sunday.
Honor and Noah Carter both scored five in a 10-0 run to open the game and the Tigers (7-2) stayed in front from there on their way to their fourth straight win. The Shockers (7-2) scored the next seven points and they stayed within one or two possessions for most of the game.
East sank 6 of 13 shots with three 3-pointers and 7 of 8 free throws for Missouri. The senior’s nine assists matched a career high set during his freshman season. Honor made 5 of 12 shots with three 3-pointers. Caleb Grill came off the bench to score 13 points and grab 10 rebounds and Connor Vanover, another reserve, scored 11.
Colby Rogers led Wichita State with 17 points and Harlond Beverly scored 12 with a career-high 17 rebounds for his second career double-double. Isaac Abidde added 11 points off the bench and Xavier Bell scored 10.
Honor buried three 3-pointers and scored 11, East added 10 points and Missouri took a 41-34 lead into halftime.
Wichita State pulled within 51-48 on a 3-pointer by Abidde with 13:03 remaining in the game. Vanover and Grill answered with 3-pointers and Vanover’s dunk capped an 8-2 run for a 59-50 lead.
Beverly scored seven straight points to get the Shockers within 68-66 with 3:51 to go. Grill answered again with a 3-pointer, East followed a Bell basket for Wichita State with a 3-pointer and two free throws and the Tigers withstood the rally.
Missouri leads the all-time series 6-1 with the Shockers’ only victory a 61-55 road win two seasons ago. The Tigers are 8-3 all time against the American Athletic Conference, which was formed in 2013.
Missouri travels to play No. 5 Kansas on Saturday. Wichita State heads home to play South Dakota State on Saturday.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
