One thing the Shockers have been missing this season is a big man that can compliment senior forward Darius Carter. Wichita State (5-1) found a few productive big men in their 81-52 blowout of the Saint Louis Billikens (5-3) Saturday evening at Intrust Bank Arena.

Evan Wessel started at the 4-spot again and had his most productive scoring night of the season — and his career. Scoring 15 points by shooting 6-for-9 from the field and 3-for-5 from 3-point range, Wessel received more than one standing ovation from the crowd, which was 15,000 strong Saturday.

One of Wessel’s ovations came after he dove on the floor for the ball, scrambled and still ended up with it. Head coach Gregg Marshall took it as a teaching opportunity for his bench, saying they shouldn’t worry because Evan will get it.

Wessel, though, is not a team’s prototypical power forward. Wichita State has been searching for a young big man to step up and, at the very least, be a viable backup to Carter.

At times this season, Shaquille Morris has stepped up. Morris earned himself a spot in the starting lineup when Tekele Cotton rested against Newman on Nov. 23, nursing a bum finger.

Last night, two men stepped up to the plate: Rauno Nurger and Rashard Kelly.

Nurger scored a career-high 15 points off the bench and went 2-for-4 from beyond the arc.

“I think it’s very possible [that his confidence is growing],” Marshall said of Nurger. “He scored inside. He defended pretty well. He got a couple rebounds.”

His stat sheet also showed one block, one steal and two assists. Rebounding is the one concern for the 6-foot-10, 242-pound forward who only collected one rebound in 15 minutes. Although, he did box out each time down the floor, allowing his teammates to fill up their stat sheets.

“He had one ripped out of his hands,” Marshall said, “but he’s a guy that we know can shoot the basketball. We know he’s got those abilities and tonight he got loose a couple times. So maybe now the confidence will start brimming from him. It was good to see him play that well.”

In addition to Nurger, Kelly grabbed seven rebounds. One of the seven came off a put-back dunk which forced Saint Louis to take a timeout. Marshall said Kelly could be like an Evan Wessel in the way he goes after the ball.

“The thing that I liked about him and the reason we recruited him is ’cause he was the best ball-getter, in my opinion, at that position that we could recruit,” Marshall said. “He was our No. 1 choice as a power forward. I mean, he’s a grown man. He’s coming in ready to play and I just loved how he pursues the basketball.”

If Nurger can develop his rebounding and if Kelly can develop his scoring ability, Wichita State could have an especially strong 1-2 punch down low for years to come.

Wichita State’s next game is at 6.m. Tuesday against Seton Hall at Charles Koch Arena.