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.
