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  • Big Second Half For Corey Washington Leads Wichita State Past Northern Iowa, 79-73

Big Second Half For Corey Washington Leads Wichita State Past Northern Iowa, 79-73

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Basketball

Corey Washington scored all 19 of his points in the second half to lead Wichita State to a 79-73 win over former MVC rival, Northern Iowa, Thursday night in Charles Koch Arena.

Wichita State (3-0) led by as many as 14 in the second half, but was never able to pull away from a feisty UNI team. The Shockers grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and outrebounded the Panthers by 11.

The win also added to the festivities as Wichita State welcomed back former head coach Mark Turgeon, who was recently inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.

As crucial as Washington's scoring was in the second half, Wichita State's bench was just as critical in the first half. AJ McGinnis (8), Matej Bosnjak (9) sparked the offense to a nine-point lead before UNI cut it to two, 34-32, at halftime.

Justin Hill added 11 points to go with four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Quincy Ballard battled foul trouble most of the night, but threw down two monstrous dunks in the second half to electrify the home crowd.

Wichita State breaks a tie in the all-time series with UNI, moving 29-28 against the Panthers in the first meeting since 2017.

A UNI three-pointer from Jacob Hutson on the opening possession of the second half pushed the Panthers in front, but the Washington Show was about to begin. The junior forward proceeded to score the next eight points for Wichita State.

A Hill stepback three, followed by a Washington layup and Bijan Cortes triple, Wichita State was back up by nine in the blink of an eye.

With the lead hovering back and forth between double digits, the Shockers grabbed their largest lead of the night, 71-57, and only 4:55 remaining. But the Panthers were not ready to head home just yet. Back-to-back three-pointers, a Hutson free throw and an offensive rebound pulled UNI right back within six and still 2:29 to go.

UNI had a chance to make it a four-point game on the next possession until Hill picked off a pass in transition and found Ballard wide open on the other end for a breakaway two-hand slam.

A UNI dunk 40 seconds later made it 75-71, but Wichita State closed the door at the free throw line. Washington and Xavier Bell both made a pair of free throws to prevent a UNI comeback.

Up Next
Wichita State wraps up a three-game homestand next Monday, Nov. 18 vs. Monmouth at 6:30 p.m.