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No.16 Wichita State 66, Western Kentucky 49: Fred VanVleet scored 17 points as the host Shockers started the second half with an 11-0 run to pull away from the Hilltoppers in a game which began at midnight local time as part of ESPN's Tip-Off Marathon.

Cleanthony Early recorded 11 points and nine rebounds for 2013 Final Four participant Wichita State (2-0), which broke open a 30-28 game at halftime. Kadeem Coleby added 13 points and had three of the Shockers' 12 blocked shots while VanVleet added five rebounds and four steals.

T.J. Price and Aleksej Rostov scored 12 points apiece for Western Kentucky (0-1), which was picked to win the Sun Belt Conference title in the preseason poll. The Hilltoppers shot 28.6 percent from the field and were 7-for-30 from 3-point range.

Coleby's alley-oop dunk off a nifty pass by VanVleet highlighted the big run to start the second half, sending the Koch Arena crowd into a frenzy. Wichita State increased its advantage to 51-36 after Nick Wiggins drained a 3-pointer from the corner and VanVleet hit a pair of free throws after being intentionally fouled.

The Hilltoppers trimmed the deficit to 51-42 on Caden Dickerson's 3-pointer with 8:44 remaining. The Shockers regained their 15-point advantage on another Coleby alley-oop slam which made it 59-44 with 5:48 left and were never threatened down the stretch.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Price's 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer withstood a lengthy review by the officials after the ball bounced high off the rim and fell through the basket after it was nearly touched by a Hilltopper after time expired. ... Coleby missed a wide-open dunk 10 seconds into the contest. ... The school handed out energy drinks to fans prior to the game. Wichita State also played in the Marathon last season, winning at Virginia Commonwealth 53-51 in a game which began at a more reasonable 9 p.m. ET.