WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall has never been shy about proclaiming the exploits of his team.
But after the No. 24 Shockers outlasted East Carolina 75-69 on Wednesday, he was not in the mood to do so.
It wasnt anything to shout about or call home, Marshall said flatly. We didnt play our best.
Erik Stevenson scored 10 of his 17 points after halftime for the Shockers (12-1, 1-0 American), who trailed midway through the second half thanks to East Carolinas Jayden Gardner scoring 20 of his 29 points after halftime.
Gardner, who entered the game leading the American in scoring at 20.7 points a game, was 12 of 20 from the floor and had a game-high 10 rebounds.
His 15-footer is almost automatic, Marshall said. He was able to get it a little more than we wanted.
Jamarius Burton had 15 points for Wichita State while Tyson Etienne and Trey Wade added 11 each for the Shockers.
J.J. Miles scored 12 points for the Pirates (6-8, 0-1 American), and Tremont Robinson-White added 11.
Wichita State shot out to a 9-0 lead, and East Carolina coach Joe Dooley admitted his team got frazzled.
But Gardner was not going to let them get blown out.
Its fun to play in an atmosphere like this, Gardner said. Once guys got adjusted to ir, we settled down and played well.
The Pirates came all the way back to take a 45-44 lead on Bitumba Barutis jumper in the lane with 12:46 remaining.
I thought we werent playing aggressively enough, Marshall said. Thats one of the reasons they could keep scoring.
Stevenson scored seven points over the next three minutes to push Wichita State back ahead 53-47.
We have a lot of veteran guards, Stevenson said, and I think that helps us from getting too down about losing the lead, especially at home. We know we can turn that momentum around.
