Northern State 75 Wayne State 68

Kevin Ratzsch and Craig Nelson each scored 22 points to lead Northern State past Wayne State 75-68 in Northern Sun Conference men's basketball played in Wayne, Nebraska Saturday evening.  The visiting Wolves moved to 8-1 overall and 3-1 in league play with Wayne State dropping to 6-4 overall and 2-2 in the NSIC.

The first half was closely contested with four ties and seven lead changes.  A pair of Bryce Caldwell free throws with 1:48 remaining in the first half gave Wayne State a 32-31 halftime advantage. The Wildcats built a pair of five point leads in the second half with the final one being 46-41 at the 13:15 mark following a Caldwell three-pointer.  But Northern State went on a 16-3 run over the next 4:23 and took a 57-49 with 8:52 to go.  WSC got as close as four points at 59-55 with 6:20 left on a Jonathon Thomas three-pointer, however, the Wolves scored the next eight points to end the Wildcat rally as Northern State went on to the 75-68 win.

WSC had four players in double figures and two finishing with double-doubles as Caldwell accounted for 17 points and 11 rebounds while senior center Matt Rathje finished with 12 points and 10 boards.  Jonathon Thomas scored 15 points and Jamar Diggs added 12.  WSC shot 25 of 67 from the field for just 37.3 percent, 7 of 22 from the three point line and 11 of 20 at the free throw stripe.

Ratzsch and Nelson had 22 points each to lead Northern State with Levi Hamilton adding 13.  The Wolves hit 24 of 57 shots for 42 percent, 10 of 19 three pointers (52%) and 17 of 19 at the charity stripe. 

WSC out-rebounded NSU 48-34 with the Wildcats grabbing 26 offensive rebounds.  The 'Cats had one more turnover (14) than the Wolves (13).

Wayne State is off this week for finals and will return to action on Monday, December 17th with a game at Biola University in California followed by a Tuesday, December 18th game at the University of California-San Diego.