Wayne State 83 Nebraska-Kearney 77
Wayne State College built a 16-point second half lead, then held off a late Nebraska-Kearney rally, to top the Lopers 83-77 in non-conference men's college basketball played in Kearney Monday evening. WSC is now 4-1 on the season while UNK suffers their fourth straight loss to fall to 1-4 overall. It was Wayne State's first win in Kearney since the 1996-97 season.
UNK held a 17-13 lead midway through the first half, but Wayne State went on a 12-0 run to grab a 25-17 lead with 6:57 remaining in the half. WSC maintained the lead and held a 39-28 advantage at the intermission.
The Wildcats built a 16-point lead in the second half, 62-46 with 10:54 left following a jumper by Jamar Diggs, but UNK used the hot shooting of sophomore guard Jeff Martin to pull within three points with less than 3:50 to go in the game. Martin scored 22 of his game-high 28 points in the second half to spur the Lopers' run, but it was a Max Froehlich three-pointer with 3:50 to go that got UNK as close as three points at 72-69. A pair of Matt Rathje free throws and a three-pointer by Bryce Caldwell put the 'Cats back up by seven points at 77-70. WSC then made free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
“It was a good win,” said WSC head coach Rico Burkett following the game. “We kind of made it hectic at the end, but we found a way to get the job done and get another win. I thought we did some really good things tonight and got some much needed balance both inside and out scoring the ball. Four guys in double figures is what we we're looking for.”
Sophomore guard Jamar Diggs led four Wildcat players in double figures with 20 points. Senior center Matt Rathje added 18 points with Bryce Caldwell and Jonathon Thomas accounting for 14 points each with Thomas hitting all seven shots from the field. The Wildcats shot 54.5 percent from the field, making 31 of 57 shots. WSC was 4 of 14 from the three point line and 17 of 25 at the charity stripe.
Nebraska-Kearney was led by sophomore guard Jeff Martin, who drained 22 of his 28 points in the second half. Garrett Lever and Max Froehlich scored 12 points each with Drake Beranek adding 11. UNK hit 26 of 70 shots from the field, 9 of 38 from the three point line and 16 of 22 at the free throw line.
Both teams had 40 rebounds in the game. Thomas was Wayne State's top rebounder with nine caroms while Josiah Parker grabbed eight for UNK. WSC had 21 turnovers in the game to 19 for the Lopers.
Wayne State will open Northern Sun Conference play on the road this weekend, visiting Minnesota, Crookston Friday night and Bemidji State Saturday night.
