Friday, February 20, 2009

Wayne State 71 Northern State 65

                    Wayne State College snapped a seven-game losing streak Friday evening with a 71-65 win over Northern State in Northern Sun Conference men's basketball played in Wayne, Nebraska.  The win by the Wildcats also marked just the second time in the last 17 meetings with the Wolves dating back to 2000-01 that WSC was able to beat Northern State.  WSC is now 9-15 overall and 5-12 in the NSIC while Northern State slips to 18-6 overall and 11-6 in league play.
                With the exception of two ties and one lead change in the first half, Wayne State led the entire game.  The Wildcats held several leads of seven in the first half before settling for a 27-24 halftime lead.  In the second half, Wayne State built a pair of 14 point leads with the final one coming at 51-37 with 6:54 to play following a three point play by Brian Metz.  Northern State slowly chipped into the lead and got as close as four points in the final minute, 67-63 with 39 seconds to play and 69-65 with five seconds left following a jumper by Kevin Ratzsch.  Wildcat sophomore guard Ryan Rudloff then sank two free throws with three seconds remaining to seal the 71-65 win for Wayne State.
                Junior center Brian Metz poured in a game-high 24 points to go with nine rebounds to lead Wayne State.  Ryan Rudloff finished with 14 points, a career-high, and Brent Jackman added 13 points for the Wildcats.  WSC made 24 of 51 shots from the field for 47.1 percent.  The 'Cats were 4 of 13 from the three point line and 19 of 28 at the charity stripe.
                For Northern State, sophomore guard Mitch Boeck scored 19 points while Kevin Ratzsch, the NSIC's leading scorer at 21.9 points per game, poured in 18 points.  The Wolves were 23 of 49 from the field for 46.9, 8 of 18 from the three point line and 11 of 16 from the free throw line.
                Both teams had 30 rebounds in the game as Metz grabbed nine caroms to lead Wayne State with Ratzsch hauling in seven boards to lead Northern State.  WSC had just 11 turnovers in the game while Northern State had 15.
                Wayne State will be at home again Saturday evening hosting the University of Mary in a Northern Sun Conference tilt starting at 8:00 p.m.