Wichita State's David Kyles scored a career-high 20 points to lead the Shockers past Texas Southern 79-67 Tuesday night at Koch Arena.
Wichita State (1-0) received 11 points from newcomer Joe Ragland.
Texas Southern (0-2) was led by freshman Lawrence Johnson-Danner's 22 points.
The Shockers opened the second half with a quick 11-3 run that pushed their lead to 48-38. Kyles ignited the spurt with two 3-pointers and added a third a couple minutes later. Kyles had his 20 points - four better than the junior's previous career high - five minutes into the second half.
Texas Southern had a productive start, leading 13-12 at the 10-minute mark after Johnson-Danner's 3-pointer. But Wichita State outscored the Tigers 25-12 over the first half's final 10 minutes, a run ignited by Demetric Williams and Kyles hitting consecutive 3-pointers. Wichita State's Toure' Murry hit two 3-pointers to end the half and push the Shockers' lead to 37-25.
