Southwest Minnesota State 84 Wayne State 74  

         Southwest Minnesota State outscored Wayne State 49-31 in the second half to rally for a 84-74 win over the Wildcats in Northern Sun Conference men's basketball Saturday night in Marshall, Minnesota.  The win gives the Mustangs (15-10, 10-6 NSIC) sole possession of third place in the NSIC while Wayne State (14-11, 9-7 NSIC) slips to fourth place in the league standings.

            With the exception of the first basket of the game scored by SMSU, Wayne State held the lead for the entire first half and was up by as many as 15 points (28-13) before taking a 43-35 lead at halftime.  The Wildcats controlled the first half thanks to strong field goal shooting, hitting 16 of 27 shots from the field (59%) and 9 of 14 (64%) from the three point line.

            However, the host Mustangs used some stellar shooting in the second half to rally for the win.  SMSU drained 17 of 27 shots in the second half, including 6 of 10 from the three point line, to take care of the Wildcats.  Travis Krenske's three pointer with 12:36 remaining gave the Mustangs their first lead of the second half at 57-54.  A Bryce Caldwell three pointer for Wayne State would tie the score at 59-59 with 10:23 to go, but that's as close as WSC would get.  After trailing by seven points, the Wildcats used a Jamar Diggs layup to pull within two points, 74-72, with 3:16 remaining.  SMSU then scored the next seven points to go in front 81-72 with 57 seconds left and the Mustangs went on to the win.

            Bryce Caldwell sank six three-pointers and finished with 20 points to lead Wayne State.  Matt Rathje accounted for 15 points with Jamar Diggs and Jonathon Thomas adding 13 points apiece for the Wildcats.  WSC finished the game shooting 47.4 percent from the field making 27 of 57 shots.  The 'Cats were 12 of 18 from the three point line and 8 of 10 at the charity stripe.  After making 16 of 27 shots in the first half, WSC cooled to just 11 of 30 (36.7%) in the second half.

            Travis Krenske scored 21 points to lead Southwest Minnesota State followed by Matt Fletcher with 19 points and Taylor Huseby 10.  The Mustangs canned 31 of 58 shots in the game for 53.4 percent, including 17 of 27 in the second half.  SMSU made 11 of 21 three point shots, but made only 11 of 23 free throws.

            The Mustangs held a decisive 38-27 advantage in rebounding over Wayne State as Ross DeMasi grabbed seven boards to lead SMSU with Matt Rathje grabbing seven boards for Wayne State. 

            Wayne State will be on the road again next weekend, visiting MSU Moorhead Friday and Concordia-St. Paul Saturday to close out the regular season.