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WICHITA, Kan. -- Southern Illinois coach Barry Hinson couldnt hear himself amid the roar in Koch Arena, so he kept stomping on the floor in a fruitless attempt to get his teams attention. Hed say later that the crowd was the biggest factor in the game. The Salukis hung tough for all but about 3 minutes Tuesday tonight, finally falling 78-67 to fourth-ranked Wichita State. It put an end to Southern Illinois four-game winning streak, its best in more than four years, while leaving the Shockers still unbeaten. "Gosh, that crowd," Hinson said. "I hate them -- and I love them. Its an oxymoron." Make no mistake: Hinson loves the passion of Missouri Valley Conference fans. He just wishes he could have better communicated with his players down the stretch, when the game hung in the balance. Instead, the Salukis (10-16, 6-7) starting turning it over on offence, the Shockers (26-0, 13-0) started getting easy baskets at the other end, and Hinson was left standing on the sideline with his hands on his hips, watching mirthlessly as the final seconds ticked away. Anthony Beane scored 25 points to lead the Salukis. "Theres a reason theyre 26-0. Theyre damn good," Hinson said, "but they made shots and that crowd just went nuts, and we came down and said, Hey, its close to April 15! Well just give you the ball and well get a tax deduction!" Ron Baker scored 19 points and Cleanthony Early had 18 for the Shockers, who became the first team to start 26-0 since Memphis in 2008. Five games stand in the way of Wichita State becoming the first team since Saint Josephs in 2004 to have a perfect regular season. The Hawks didnt lose that year until the Atlantic 10 tournament. "Just survive," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. "That was not our best effort, obviously. They get a lot of credit for that. They had a great game plan. They packed it in and we didnt make any shots from the arc. It was a good strategy. Finally we made some in the second half and pulled away slowly, but give them credit. They played well." The Shockers trailed at halftime for the ninth time during their unbeaten run, though the 33-32 deficit could have been a whole lot worse the way they were shooting the ball. Wichita State was just 2 of 14 from 3-point range in the first half, most of them missing just about everything. In fact, the only shots the Shockers seemed to make outside of 3 feet were a series of free throws that Early made to keep them within striking distance. It didnt help that the Shockers were in foul trouble, too. Baker, Early and Fred VanVleet -- their top three scorers -- were on the bench with two fouls apiece late in the half. Once they returned after the break, the Shockers started to pick up steam. Early converted a three-point play with 15:47 to put them ahead 44-43, the seventh lead change in the game. Baker added a silky-smooth jumper, then knocked down his first 3 moments later as Wichita State took control and Koch Arena suddenly got rocking. Beane refused to let the Salukis wilt under the pressure. The sophomore guard kept slicing through Wichita States man-to-man defence for baskets near the rim, more than once drawing contact along the way. When the Shockers finally clamped down on him, he deftly found the open teammate for wide-open looks. Jalen Pendletons three-point play pulled the Salukis to 69-64 with 2 1/2 minutes left, but Baker answered with his third 3-pointer. The Shockers turned up the pressure and forced Sean OBrien into a turnover that led to a run-out by Baker, who was fouled and made both free throws. Still with a chance to make it a game, Southern Illinois promptly turned it over again, and this time the Salukis allowed VanVleet to go for an uncontested layup that made it 76-64. Wichita State merely had to coax the final seconds off the clock to remain undefeated. "Its cool, you know?" Early said. "But we take it game by game, day by day. I dont think were looking at an undefeated season because you have to beat the team thats in front of you." Cheap Air Max 90 Free Shipping . PETERSBURG, Fla. Wholesale Air Max 720 . The 30-year-old Moore played in 13 games for the Saints last season, catching 37 balls for 457 yards and two touchdowns. http://www.wholesalenikeshoesclearance.com/cheap-max-97-shoes/fake-air-max-97-plus.html . Milan was held to 1-1 at home by Torino. Cagliari scored six minutes from halftime when Mauricio Pinilla blasted home from the penalty spot after Facundo Roncaglia tripped Marco Sau. 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When the Wild signed Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, making a big splash in the summer of 2012, it set the franchise on a path to being more competitive, but a big reason that they have been so competitive is the contributions of young players who still have more to give. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Royals ace James Shields is open to staying in Kansas City beyond this season. That news should make the thousands of fans, already flying high over the teams strong finish a year ago, feel even better as they turned out for their annual FanFest on Friday. The Royals exercised their $13.5 million option on Shieldss contract shortly after going 86-76 last season, their best finish since 1989. The durable right-hander was a big reason behind the success, going 13-9 with a 3.15 ERA in an American League-leading 228.2 innings. Shields told a small group of reporters at Bartle Hall that he was willing to discuss an extension, but he said those talks with general manager Dayton Moore have not taken place. "Id definitely be open-minded to it," Shields said. "A player in my position, where I have one more year left before free agency, I mean, Im definitely open to it. I like Kansas City. I like the organization and I like the direction were going." If Shields went to the open market, its unlikely that the Royals would be a player in the chase. There were reports this off-season that he would seek a contract similar to that of former Royals star Zack Greinke, who signed a $147 million, six-year deal with the Dodgers last season. "Thats absolutely not true at all," Shields said. "I have no clue where he got that from, to be honest with you. Ive had no discussions with Dayton at all. "If Dayton wants to talk about it, Im more than willing to sit and talk about it. But during the season, my main focus is trying to win games and get some wins for this team." Pitchers and catchers are due to report to Surprise, Ariz., for the start of spring training on Feb. 14. The first full-squad workout is Feb. 20. Most of the Royals key pieces return from last season, when they conntended into September for the first time in a decade.dddddddddddd Their two biggest holes were filled by trading reliever Will Smith to Milwaukee for right field Norichika Aoki and signing Omar Infante to solidify second base. "I didnt think our defence could get any better," Shields said, "but theyre definitely filling some holes that we had. And theyre great additions to our lineup." Then theres the starting rotation, where Ervin Santana has become a free agent. While the right-hander has yet to sign elsewhere, the Royals appeared to move on when they signed left-hander Jason Vargas to a contract early in the off-season. Along with Jeremy Guthrie, the first three spots in the rotation are set. That leaves two up for grabs among a handful of candidates, including starters-turned-relievers Wade Davis and Luke Hochevar, veteran Bruce Chen, left-hander Danny Duffy and flame-thrower Yordano Ventura. "Ive just been working hard, resting my arm," said Ventura, who had a 3.52 ERA in three late-season starts in Kansas City. "Ive just been getting ready because I want to get out there and make the team." That doesnt figure to be an easy task given the glut of competition. "Its a competitive game anyway," Davis said. "Why not do it from within a little bit?" Davis said that he spent the off-season in the weight room, and pronounced himself more ready for this season than any previous year. He also said that hes already been throwing some bullpen sessions, giving him a head start on reporting for spring training. "Im definitely going in to start," said Davis, who began last season in the rotation but was demoted to the bullpen when he proved ineffective. "Hopefully I get that opportunity." ' ' '