Wayne State 70 Benedictine College 65
Wayne State College sank 15 of 16 free throws in the second half and 20 of 22 in the game to hang on for a 70-65 win over Benedictine College of Kansas Friday evening at the SUNHEAT Men's College Basketball Classic in Grand Island, Nebraska at the Heartland Events Center. The Wildcats are now 1-2 on the season, winning their first game for new head coach Paul Combs, while Benedictine falls to 5-2 on the season.
The first half was tightly contested with eight ties and eight lead changes with Benedictine College holding a 37-35 lead at the intermission. Early in the second half following the game's 10th tie at 45-45, WSC went on a 13-2 run over the next 3:50 to take a 58-47 lead with 10:54 to play following a three point play by Wildcat junior guard Ryan Rudloff. Moments later, Benedictine responded and held WSC without a point for a stretch of nearly six minutes as the Ravens scored 12 straight points to take a 61-60 lead following two Geno McNeil free throws with 3:44 remaining. But WSC would rally, thanks to stellar free throw shooting down the stretch and key baskets by Amry Shelby and Elijah Miller, as the Wildcats went on to the 70-65 win over Benedictine College
Junior forward Brad Starken poured in a career-high 22 points to go with seven rebounds and six assists to lead the Wildcats in the win. Freshman guard Amry Shelby contributed 14 points, including a perfect 9 of 9 from the foul line, followed by Marcus Messersmith with a career-high 13 points off the bench. Senior center Brian Metz also reached double figures with 10 points along with a team-high nine rebounds.
Wayne State College shot 22 of 50 from the field for 44 percent and made 6 of 14 three point shots. The Wildcats were outstanding from the charity stripe, going 20 of 22 for the game including 15 of 16 in the second half. WSC outrebounded Benedictine College 35-27 thanks to nine boards by Metz and seven from Starken. The 'Cats had just 13 turnovers with 17 assists on the night.
For Benedictine College, Jack Johnson scored 18 points followed by Chris Bonham with 13 and Alex Miller 10. The Ravens shot 24 of 54 from the field for 44.4 percent, making 8 of 18 shots from the three point line and 9 of 13 free throws.
Wayne State will be in action again on Saturday afternoon in the SUNHEAT College Basketball Classic in Grand Island, Nebraska, facing Nebraska-Omaha at 3:00 p.m.
