WICHITA, Kan. -- Eighteen first-half points from David Kyles and 13 second-half points from Joe Ragland propelled Wichita State in an 83-76 win against Utah State Saturday at Charles Koch Arena.
Wichita State took the lead for good midway through the first half and fought off a late surge by the Aggies, who crept within four points late in the game.
Kyles' 18 points, all from three-pointers, helped create a 21-point halftime lead for the Shockers in front of a crowd of 10,386.
The Aggies battled back, however, outscoring the Shockers, 56-42, in the second half. A block by Ehimen Orukpe at the defensive end, followed by free throws from Ragland and Williams regained a 12-point Wichita State lead in the final minute.
Ragland finished with a game-high 19 points for Wichita State, which improved to 7-2 overall and 5-0 in Wichita this season. Garrett Stutz led Wichita State with a game-high eight rebounds. Toure' Murry (12 points) and Carl Hall (11 points) also finished with double-digit points totals for the Shockers.
Utah State fell to 4-5 overall as the Shockers won their fifth-straight game.
Kyles opened the contest with back-to-back three-pointers for the Shockers, who held Utah State without a point for the first 2:30 of the game.
The Aggies grabbed a 13-12 lead before the Shockers answered with a Kyles' three-pointer, Murry dunk and Ben Smith layup to take the lead.
Five three-pointers from Ragland (two), Kyles (two) and Williams pushed the Shockers ahead to a 41-20 halftime lead during a 17-0 Wichita State run.
Utah State opened the second half outscoring the Shockers, 9-4. A 7-0 run by Utah State over 1:08 later cut the Shockers' lead to 53-42 with 12:30 left in the game.
A Ragland layup and free throw that followed regained a 14-point lead for Wichita State, 56-42.
The Aggies crept within four points before a jumper from Murry and three-pointer from Ragland pushed Wichita State back out to a nine-point edge with 3:18 left on the clock.
Wichita State outrebounded Utah State, 21-11, in the first half and, 37-25, in the game overall.
The Shockers shot 45.6 percent (26-of-57) for the game overall and 44 percent from behind the three-point line (11-of-25).
Saturday's game kicked off a three-game homestand for the Shockers, who host Chicago State at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14, then Newman University at 7:05 p.m. Monday, Dec. 19.
