Saturday, January 24, 2009

Southwest Minnesota State 49 Wayne State 41

            Southwest Minnesota State outscored Wayne State 31-17 in the second half to rally for a 49-41 defensive-minded Northern Sun Conference men's basketball win over the Wildcats in Marshall, Minnesota Saturday night.  The host Mustangs are now 15-5 overall and tied for first in the NSIC with an 8-3 league mark while Wayne State is now 8-10 overall and 4-7 in league play.

            The Wildcats silenced the Hawaiian Night crowd of 3,568 in Marshall early in the game by jumping out to a 10-2 lead with 13:58 to play in the first half.  The Wildcats held the lead for the rest of the first half, taking their biggest lead of nine at 24-15 on a David Walters three-pointer with 25 seconds left in the first half before settling for a 24-18 advantage at halftime.

            Wayne State maintained the lead until Southwest Minnesota State went on an 11-0 run midway through the second half, giving the Mustangs the lead for good.  A David Walters three pointer gave WSC a 29-24 lead with 16:19 to play, but the Mustangs then went their 11-0 run over the next 4:34 to take a 35-29 lead on a DeAnthony Zanders three pointer.  Wayne State got as close as three points several times with the final one coming at 44-41 with 43 seconds on a David Walters three pointer.  But WSC had to foul the Mustangs late and SMSU made free throws down the stretch to make the final margin 49-41.

            Jonathon Thomas had 12 points to lead three double digit scorers for the Wildcats while David Walters and Brian Metz finished with 10 each.  The Wildcats shot 43.9 percent from the field, hitting on 18 of 41 shots.  WSC was 3 of 12 from the three point line and 2 of 2 at the free throw line.

            For Southwest Minnesota State, Kevin Andrews poured in 14 points followed by Andy Beilke with 10.  The Mustangs shot just 36.7 percent from the field (18 of 49), including 4 of 13 from the three point arc.  SMSU was 9 of 11 at the charity stripe.

            Wayne State was outrebounded by the Mustangs 32-24 as SMSU had 15 offensive rebounds.  Brian Metz grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Wildcats while Ross DeMasi had nine boards for SMSU.  WSC had 22 turnovers in the game to 18 for Southwest Minnesota State.

            Wayne State is back at Rice Auditorium next weekend for home games, hosting St. Cloud State Friday night and Concordia, St. Paul Saturday night in 8:00 p.m. games.