Wichita State prepared for what they thought would be a tough game with Big West Conference favorite Long Beach State on Sunday night.  A 21-0 run early in the second half swiftly turned their predictions to a post-game locker room filled with laughter.

The Shockers opened up to a large lead in the second half, ultimately washing away the 49ers in a 92-55 victory.

Long Beach State gained the possession at tipoff, which marked the beginning of a back-and-forth battle for the Shockers. Despite Long Beach having possession first, the Shockers made it on the board first with a free throw by junior Rashard Kelly.

Two free throws by redshirt freshman Conner Frankamp put WSU ahead after an early back-and-forth battle.

“I feel like my offense will be there,” Frankamp said. “If I play good defense, create havoc and create steals, then that also helps my offense and gets me into the flow of the game.”

Free throws and a two-point jump shot by redshirt freshman Landry Shamet extended WSU’s lead to ten points at the half.

“For whatever reason they couldn’t shoot it,” head coach Gregg Marshall said.

Marshall attributed the blowout to his team’s lock-down defense and poor shooting by the 49ers.

“Landry played a tremendous floor game, and was an ace defender for the most part all game long,” Marshall said.

After the break, Long Beach came back for a five-point run before the Shockers were able to respond with a Frankamp three.

Junior Zach Brown hit a jump shot and raced for a breakaway dunk putting the Shockers back up double-digits.

Jnior Daishon Smith opened up the lead even farther for the Shockers with two back-to-back threes and a layup putting them on top with a 20-point lead.

Brown continued to stay hot from the perimeter; he and Frankamp each added a three to widen the margin, 64-38.

“You got guys that have to keep an eye on [Frankamp] because he can open up the floor,” Smith said. “It’s just up to me to be able to knock down shots and take some pressure off of him.”

Freshman Austin Reaves scored eight back-to-back points in the second half with two layups, a made free and a three. With 5:46 left to play in the second half, Reaves hit yet another three to bring his total game points up to 11.

“Daishon did the hard things,” Reaves said. “I just did the easy things and made the shot.”

Frankamp lead the team in scoring overall with 15. Shamet followed with 12 points. Brown and Smith tied at 11 points with 3 and 4 assists, respectively.

“It seems like as each day goes on our guards gain more confidence,” Frankamp said. “This was a great confidence booster with our guards.”

WSU next hosts Tulsa on at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Koch Arena.