An 11-point halftime deficit proved too much to overcome for the Wichita State men’s basketball team as they lost on the road on Thursday against East Carolina University (ECU), 68-55.

The loss means the Shockers are now 10-15 overall on the season and 2-10 in American Athletic Conference play. ECU is 6-6 in the conference.

Sloppy play on offense hurt Wichita State, as they turned the ball over 14 times and shot 37.7% from the floor throughout the game.

The Shockers showed signs of life early in the first half as they knocked home three shots from beyond the arc, taking a narrow two-point lead, 11-9.

Wichita State’s lead grew to six points, 17-11, after redshirt junior guard Harlond Beverly sunk a couple of free-throws.

A layup by junior guard Xavier Bell with 8:55 left in the first half was the last time Wichita State held on to a lead, 19-18.

To close the half, the Shockers shot an abysmal 3/13 from the floor in the final eight minutes as they went to the locker room trailing 38-27. 

During the second half, Wichita State could not cut into the lead as they trailed by double-digits the entire 20 minutes.

Beverly scored a layup to cap off a 6-0 run, making the lead the lowest of the half for the Pirates, 45-35, with 14:58 remaining.

ECU would go up by as many as 19 with 9:45 left on the clock, but redshirt junior guard Colby Rogers hit a jump shot to avoid a 20-point deficit for the Shockers.

Wichita State went on another scoring run of seven points that ended with a turnaround jump shot scored by Bell, cutting the ECU lead to 59-48 with 5:28 to go in the second half.

The game was well-decided at this point, and the Shockers took the 13-point loss.

The leading scorer for Wichita State was Rogers, who scored 16 points. Beverly was right behind him with 12 points.

Rogers and Beverly were the only Shockers to eclipse the double-digit mark in scoring.