Friday, January 2, 2009

Minnesota Duluth 82 Wayne State 72

            Minnesota Duluth shot a sizzling 66.7 percent (14 of 21) in the second half to rally for an 82-72 Northern Sun Conference men's basketball win over Wayne State College Friday evening at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  The visiting Bulldogs improved to 10-5 overall and 4-1 in the NSIC while dropping Wayne State to 5-6 overall and 1-3 in league play.

            Wayne State held the lead for the entire first half and was in front 34-31 at the intermission.  Minnesota Duluth then opened the second half on a 15-4 run at 46-38 with 13:57 to play following a three pointer from Steve Klass.  WSC would get as close as five on several occasions, but the Bulldogs clinched the win by draining 21 of 27 free throws in the second half with most coming in the final two minutes to preserve the victory.

            Senior center John Vaudreuil paced a balanced scoring attack for the Bulldogs with 20 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.  Brian Sykora followed with 18 points while Ron White accounted for 15.  Minnesota Duluth finished the game shooting 25 of 49 from the field for 51 percent, which included the 14 of 21 effort in the second half.

            Wayne State's top scorer was junior center Brian Metz with 17 points.  Redshirt freshman guard Elijah Miller added a career-high 14 points with Jonathon Thomas pouring in 13 and Brent Jackman 10.  The Wildcats shot 22 of 52 from the field for 42.3 percent, including 10 of 29 in the second half for 34.5 percent.

            WSC won the rebounding battle over the Bulldogs 34-30 thanks to eight boards apiece from Thomas and Metz while Vaudreuil's 12 caroms paced Minnesota Duluth on the boards.       

            Wayne State will be in action again Saturday evening when the Wildcats host Bemidji State in Northern Sun Conference play starting at 8:00 p.m.