Wichita St. 71, NC Central 57

Carl Hall notched a double-double for Wichita State on Saturday, scoring 17 points and pulling 13 rebounds in a 71-57 victory over North Carolina Central in the season opener for both squads. Ron Baker, a red-shirt freshman from Scott City, Kan., led the Shockers with 18 points including a 4 for 7 effort from behind the arc. Cleanthony Early scored 10 points and had five rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench. After Stanton Kidd hit a jump shot with 10:44 remaining in the first half to bring North Carolina Central within a point at 12-11, Wichita State answered back with a 24-7 run to take a 36-18 lead at half time. Wichita State's biggest lead came at 18:55 in the second half when Hall hit two free throws to put his team up 40-18 but North Carolina Central didn't go away, outscoring the Shockers 39-31 the rest of the way.