SAN DIEGO _ A career-high 27 points from Wichita, Kan., native Conner Frankamp couldn't save Wichita State from falling victim to a Cinderella team.
No. 13 seed Marshall stunned the Shockers on Friday in San Diego, upsetting No. 4 seed Wichita State, 81-75, to advance to Sunday's second round.
To the delight of the upset-minded crowd at Viejas Arena, Jon Elmore scored 27 points to lead Marshall to a victory in its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 31 years.
WSU held a 70-69 lead with five minutes left, but came up empty on offense six times in its final eight possessions and watched as Marshall stormed ahead, highlighted by a deep Jarrod West 3-pointer and C.J. Burks stealing the ball from Landry Shamet and dunking for a 78-72 lead with two minutes left.
WSU still had a chance, as Frankamp came up with a clutch 3-pointer with 46 seconds left to cut Marshall's lead to 78-75. But Marshall took an 80-75 lead on an in-bounds play under the basket that was identical to the one Notre Dame used against the Shockers to win the Maui Invitational.
Shamet was fouled with 28.9 seconds left, but missed the front-end of his one-and-one free throw. WSU came up with three straight offensive rebounds, but Frankamp and Shamet misfired on 3s, then Shamet and Shaquille Morris bobbled a hand-off that led to a turnover off an in-bounds play.
It is the first time since 2012 that WSU (25-8) has failed to win a game in the NCAA Tournament.
Frankamp made 10 of 17 shots, including six 3-pointers, but no one else scored more than 13 points for the Shockers. Shamet finished with 11 points on 3-of-13 shooting with eight assists and four turnovers in 36 minutes. WSU shot 41.5 percent and failed to capitalize on a 44-30 rebounding advantage.
After trailing by as many as seven points in the first half, WSU reeled off a 15-1 run that spanned halftime and gave it a 41-34 lead within the first minute of the second half.
But Marshall proved resilient, producing a 6-0 run for a 53-52 lead that was highlighted by Elmore pulling up from nearly 30 feet and splashing through a game-tying 3 that brought the Marshall fans roaring to their feet with 13:11 remaining. Another Elmore 3 delivered Marshall a 56-54 lead with 10:28 left.
Frankamp continued to deliver for Wichita State.
He connected on his fourth and fifth 3s of the game midway through the second half in a crucial stretch to answer Marshall baskets at the other end. He gave WSU a 62-60 lead, then a 65-62 lead with 7:52 remaining that forced Marshall coach Dan D'Antoni to burn a timeout.
The game's start was bleak for the Shockers, who missed 10 of its first 11 3-point attempts and watched as Morris, Zach Brown and Markis McDuffie all went to the bench straddled with two fouls.
Meanwhile, Elmore was dicing up WSU's pick-and-roll defense, either drawing a foul (he made 9 of 11 free throws in the first half and scored 14 points) or sending up lobs for thunderous dunks and staked Marshall to a 28-21 lead with six minutes left in the first half.
Heading into the final media timeout of the first half, the Thundering Herd played with the confidence of a No. 13 seed that was on their way to becoming a Cinderella, up 33-27.
But then the momentum of the game swung when Marshall's Ajdin Penava went up for an open dunk, missed, hung on the rim and was assessed a technical foul. Frankamp made the technical free throw, then Darral Willis drilled a 3 to kick off an 11-1 run to end the half and give WSU a 37-34 halftime advantage.
In a half where WSU shot under 38 percent, Frankamp was crucial. He made 5 of 8 shots, including three 3s to power the Shockers through the first half with 14 points. His corner 3 with 1:34 left put WSU ahead, 35-34, for the first time after 13 minutes of trailing Marshall.
