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EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- No. 4 Wichita State relied on the basics Sunday: defence and ball security. Again, it was the perfect combination. The Shockers forced 18 turnovers, finished with a season-high 14 steals and finally locked down Evansvilles shooters late to pull away for an 84-68 victory that kept them one of the nations two undefeated teams. "We wanted to extend them, get their timing disrupted. I dont think we expected that many steals," Fred VanVleet said. "There were only a few times where we had breakdowns where we werent really where we were supposed to be." Few expected the Shockers (27-0, 14-0 Missouri Valley Conference) to be in this spot -- even after reaching the Final Four last April. They are one of only 21 teams in NCAA history to win their first 27 games, extended their school-record winning streak and are 14-0 in conference play for the first time in school history. And after Arizonas latest loss, Wichita State could be poised to move up another notch in the poll, getting even closer to Division Is only other perfect team -- No. 1 Syracuse. A win Wednesday at Loyola also would assure the Shockers at least a share of the regular-season conference title and the No. 1 seed in the Valley tournament -- with three league games still on the docket. How have they done it? With a balanced offence and a staunch defence that Evansville knows is the best in the Valley. Wichita State trumped the Purple Aces by outscoring them 23-2 off turnovers and 10-4 on fastbreaks. Coach Gregg Marshall didnt even need a stat sheet to tell him what had happened. He estimated that the Shockers topped the 40-deflection mark. The other numbers were just as glaring. VanVleet and Ron Baker each finished with a career-best five steals, and, not surprisingly wound up as the top scorers. Baker had a career-high 26 points, while VanVleet added 18 and eight assists and flirted with the possibility of a triple-double throughout the second half. But thats not what motivated Wichita, which lost twice to Evansville last season and fell behind by double-digits early in the first meeting two weeks ago at Wichita. They wanted to put away the Aces, and before the game, Marshall let Cleanthony Early, the teams top scorer, know exactly what he needed to do in front of a Pacers scout who had been asking about his defence. Early responded by scoring 13 points, seven rebounds and playing his best defensive game of the year, too. "I loved his mental approach tonight and thats not always the case," Marshall said. "But tonight I thought he was very disciplined and when he does that, man, hes really good." Evansville (11-16, 4-10) learned its lesson the hard way. Despite getting 19 points from D.J. Balentine, the MVCs top scorer, and 19 points and 10 rebounds from Egidiju Mockevicius, it wasnt quite enough to prevent a fourth loss in five games or a second straight this season to Wichita. The Purple Aces did most of what they set out to do -- shooting 51.1 per cent from the field, 45.5 per cent from 3-point range, made 15 of 16 free throws, limited the Shockers to only six offensive rebounds and kept challenging Wichita State right down to the final minutes. But the turnovers, as they had all game, finally did them in. "We didnt turn it over in the press, we did it in the half-court and you have to take care of the basketball," coach Marty Simmons said. "Weve really got to learn, weve got to learn from that, and thats one of our biggest deficiencies." The Purple Aces, however, only trailed 38-32 at the half and still found a way to fight back after falling into a 55-41 deficit early in the second half. Mockevicius scored the first eight points in a 10-2 spurt that cut the deficit to 57-51 with 11:19 to go. Early answered with five straight points and Evansville rallied again, getting as close as 65-60 with 6:10 left before throwing the ball away on an inbound pass that would have cut the deficit to three. "They did a good job of changing defences and I was trying to get a timeout," Simmons said. Instead, the Shockers got the ball back and forced two more turnovers during the decisive 13-4 run that finally sealed the victory. "We were just focused on getting stops and it went in our favour," VanVleet said. "We wanted to end it right there. After that possession, I think we got back on the right track." Jordan Crawford Jersey . New York (16-9-8) took over first place in the Eastern Conference and has the best record in the league with one game remaining. Houstons five-game unbeaten streak was snapped, and the Dynamo (13-11-9) are sixth in the East with one game remaining. Kenrich Williams Pelicans Jersey . - Mike Magee converted two penalty kicks in a 10-minute span of the first half and the Chicago Fire beat Sporting Kansas City 2-1 on Sunday. https://www.pelicanslockerroom.com/Jj-Re...Edition-Jersey/. Others describe it as taking the parrot for a walk. JJ Redick Jersey . -- Its been 21 years since Joe Gibbs Racing celebrated its only Daytona 500 victory. Brandon Ingram Jersey . -- The Florida Gators are first yet again this season.Miami, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Mike Dunleavy scored 19 of his 22 points in the third quarter and the Chicago Bulls beat the Miami Heat 93-75 on Sunday. Jimmy Butler added 17 points and Taj Gibson scored 15 with nine rebounds for the Central Division-leading Bulls, who have won three in a row and six of their last eight games. Derrick Rose had 14 points two days after pouring in a season-high 31 in a win over Portland, the first time the oft-injured former MVP topped 30 since March 12, 2012. Former Bull Luol Deng led Miami with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Dwyane Wade also scored 17. After holding the Heat under 30 percent shooting for a seven-point lead at halftime, the Bulls pulled away with a big third quarter. Dunleavys 19 points came on eight shots, including a trio of 3s. He missed just once from the field and made both of his free throws. Every night it can be someone different, said Rose. Butler had eight points in the quarter and Gibson scored the other six. One of Dunleavys 3s stretched Chicagos lead to 26 points near the end of the quarter and it was never closer than 15 the rest of thhe way.dddddddddddd. It was a tough second half, said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. We came out flat. That was pretty clear. Heat center Chris Bosh (calf) missed a game for the first time this season and the Bulls took advantage early on, scoring mostly in the paint. Consecutive dunks by Gibson to open the game sparked a 10-2 run for the Bulls, who then scored just four points over the next nine-plus minutes as the Heat built a 20-14 lead early in the second quarter. But back-to-back 3s and eight straight points by Aaron Brooks started a 14-2 Bulls flurry that gave the visitors a 28-22 lead and they remained in front for the rest of the game. Game Notes Miami shot 35 percent from the field ... Deng was traded by the Bulls to Cleveland on Jan. 6 and scored 11 points in his first meeting against his longtime team 16 days later ... Pau Gasol had nine points and nine rebounds for Chicago, but went scoreless with one board in the second half ... The Bulls remain on the road to play Atlanta on Monday ... The Heat travel to play Brooklyn on Tuesday. ' ' '