WICHITA, Kan.—Craig Porter Jr. returned to form with 19 points, but Wichita State fell, 70-61, to hot-shooting Cincinnati Thursday night at Charles Koch Arena in the final American Athletic Conference regular season matchup between the schools.
Wichita State (7-8, 0-3 American) committed just two turnovers, matching a 42-year-old school record, but also managed just four assists on 22 baskets. Seven personal fouls were also the fewest by a Shocker team in the shot clock era (1985-present).
Big 12-bound Cincinnati (11-5, 2-1) attempted just three free throws but collected 13 threes on 44.8% accuracy – both season-bests for a WSU foe.
The Bearcats sank eight first-half threes to build a 17-point halftime cushion (39-22) and went on to win for the fifth time in six AAC era trips to Wichita.
Jeremiah Davenport, who entered the day shooting less than 30% from three, hit 6-of-9 against the Shockers on his way to a season-high 22 points.
Viktor Lahkin (14 points, nine rebounds), Landers Nolley II (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Mika Adams-Woods (11 points) also reached double-figures.
Porter – who missed the conference opener at UCF and played sparingly against ECU – was on the floor for all 40 minutes Thursday and collected seven rebounds and three blocks.
Melvion Flanagan added 11 points and Kenny Pohto chipped in seven points, seven rebounds and a pair of steals.
WSU shot 32.8% from the field, made 6-of-22 threes (.273) and converted 11-of-17 free throws (.647).
The Shockers were unable to capitalize on a 13-2 turnover advantage and a 17-3 edge in free throw attempts.
UC won the rebounding battle 43-32 and turned 10 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points.
The Bearcats bridged halftime with a 13-2 run to build their largest lead of the night at 22 points. Adams-Woods' trey made it a 46-24 game at the 17:43-mark.
Flanagan sparked the Shockers with back-to-back threes during a 9-0 run that narrowed the margin back to 51-39 with 11:48 remaining.
UC answered with another 9-2 push.
The Shockers made one last gasp in the closing minutes. Xavier Bell's triple capped an 11-0 run that made it 68-60 with just under a minute to play, but that's as close as they would come.
NOTABLE:
Porter is the first Shocker since Markis McDuffie (Jan. 6, 2019 vs. Temple) to play an entire 40 minutes in regulation. McDuffie clocked five more minutes in overtime that day.
With his three-block night, Porter now has 59 swats in 58 career contests. Just seven players in school history have averaged more than a block-per-game in a career spanning three-or-more seasons. All of them were traditional big men: Antoine Carr (1.9), Robert Elmore (1.6), Gene Wiley (1.5), Ehimen Orukpe (1.1), Terry Benton (1.1) and Shaquille Morris (1.1).
James Rojas fouled David DeJulius with 0.2 seconds left before halftime on a three-point attempt, spoiling what would have otherwise been the first foul-free first half in Shocker history. WSU box scores go back to the early 1970s.
UP NEXT:
The Shockers are on the road Sunday at South Florida (Noon CT, ESPN+). Next home action is Saturday, Jan. 14 against Tulsa (3 p.m. CT, ESPN+).
WSU SINGLE-GAME RECORDS:
Turnovers (1980-Pr.)
2 – Cincinnati (1/5/2023)
2 – at Southern Illinois (2/9/1981)
3 – 5 times; Last: Mississippi Valley St. (12/13/2022)
Fewest Fouls (Shot Clock Era; 1985-Pr.)
7 – Cincinnati (1/5/2023)
8 – Hartford (12/3/1988)
9 – 9 times; Last: vs. Grand Canyon (11/21/2022)