By Associated Press
CANCUN, Mexico (AP) Oscar Tshiebwe scored 19 points and grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds to lead West Virginia to a 75-63 win over Wichita State on Wednesday night in the championship game of the Cancun Challenge.
Emmitt Matthews Jr. added 13 points for the Mountaineers (6-0), who pulled away in the second half.
Erik Stevenson led the Shockers (6-1) with 22 points. Tyson Etienne added 12 points and Jaime Echenique had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Shockers missed five shots and had two turnovers in a 3-minute, 14-second span that West Virginia turned into a 10-1 run early in the second half. When Miles McBride had back-to-back baskets, the Mountaineers led 48-36 with 13:13 to play. The West Virginia defense wouldn’t let Wichita State string anything together to challenge.
Wichita State shot 45% in the second half and limited the Shockers to 2-of-12 shooting behind the arc and 33% overall.
Tshiebwe scored 10 points and the Mountaineers took a 31-28 lead at halftime despite going 4 of 11 from the foul line and committing eight turnovers. They limited the Shockers to 28% shooting and had a 27-15 rebounding advantage, 10-4 on the offensive end.
