Wayne State 70 MSU Moorhead 63  

         Wayne State College built a 21-point lead early in the second half, then held off a late MSU Moorhead rally, to record a 70-63 Northern Sun Conference men's basketball win Saturday evening in Wayne, Nebraska.  With the win, WSC moves to 10-8 overall and 5-4 in the NSIC, tied for third place with Southwest Minnesota State, while MSU Moorhead drops to 11-6 overall and 4-5 in league play.

            Wayne State never trailed in the game as the Wildcats built a 41-27 halftime lead after enjoying several 18 point leads in the first half.  The Wildcats would build a 21 point lead, 53-32 with 14:49 remaining after a three pointer from David Walters.  However, the visiting Dragons made things interesting and slowly cut into the Wildcat lead, getting as close as one point at 61-60 with 4:41 left following a three pointer from Blake Strouth.  A pair of Matt Rathje free throws and a Rathje layup put WSC ahead 65-60 with 3:21 left.  MSU Moorhead's Blake Strouth made a layup with 2:42 to go, making the score 65-62, but that's as close as the Dragons would get as WSC sealed the win by making five of six free throws down the stretch for the 70-63 win.

            Matt Rathje and David Walters each recorded season-highs in scoring for the Wildcats, producing 19 and 15 points respectively.  Jamar Diggs also reached double figures with 11 points.  WSC shot 22 of 49 from the field for 44.9 percent.  The 'Cats were just 4 of 18 from the three point line and 22 of 32 from the charity stripe.

            For MSU Moorhead, Blake Strouth accounted for 15 points with Kyle Nelson and Ryan Rozell scoring 10 apiece.  The Dragons connected on 23 of 49 shots from the floor for 46.9 percent.  MSUM was 6 of 20 from the three point line and 11 of 20 at the free throw line.

            WSC won the rebounding battle over MSU Moorhead 36-29 as Rathje hauled in nine caroms to lead the Wildcats while O'Neal grabbed seven boards for the Dragons.  The Wildcats had 17 turnovers to 16 for MSU Moorhead. 

            The Wildcats will be at home again next weekend, hosting Bemidji State and Minnesota, Crookston on Friday and Saturday.