Wichita St. Shockers vs West Virginia Mountaineers Box Score on Nov 27, 2019

Freshman forward Oscar Tshiebwe scored 19 points and tied a Cancun Challenge record with 18 rebounds Wednesday night as West Virginia pounded out a 75-63 win over Wichita State for the tournament championship in Mexico.

Emmitt Matthews added 13 points for the Mountaineers (6-0), including a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 3:46 left for a 63-54 lead. West Virginia hit only 41 percent of its field-goal attempts but physically controlled the Shockers.

The Mountaineers dominated rebounding to the tune of 48-31, grabbing almost as many offensive boards (17) as Wichita State had defensive caroms (20). They also limited the Shockers (6-1) to 30.6 percent field-goal shooting, including a miserable 6 of 25 from the 3-point arc.

Erik Stevenson pumped in a game-high 22 points for Wichita State while Tyson Etienne chipped in 12 and Jamie Echenique scored 11 points. But the Shockers, who had their way with South Carolina on Tuesday night in a 70-47 rout, never replicated the continuity they showed in that game.

West Virginia used a 15-3 run early in the second half to take control for good. Miles McBride capped the spurt with a jumper with 13:13 remaining for a 48-36 lead, and the game was never closer than six after that.

It didn't take long to see this game would live up to its billing as a defensive struggle. Both teams guarded with ferocity, open shots were a rare commodity, and any basket was an event.

West Virginia landed the first blow, establishing a 10-4 lead on McBride's 3-pointer at the 14:53 mark and holding Wichita State without a field goal for more than five minutes. The Mountaineers upped the lead to 16-7 on a trey by Sean McNeil with 10:58 left before the break.

The Shockers spent the half's remainder reeling in the Mountaineers, pulling within 29-28 on Stevenson's 3-pointer with 33 seconds remaining. But Gabe Osabuohien played beat the buzzer with a put-back to end the half, giving West Virginia a 31-28 edge at intermission.

--Field Level Media