Wayne State 74 Minnesota, Crookston 56            

            Brett Spiker notched his fifth double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds while freshman guard Amry Shelby produced his first career double-double with 20 points and 10 assists to carry Wayne State in a 74-56 Northern Sun Conference men's basketball win Saturday night over Minnesota, Crookston in Wayne, Nebraska.  WSC has now won four of its last five games, improving to 6-7 overall and 3-3 in the NSIC while Minnesota, Crookston falls to 3-10 overall and 0-7 in league play.

            With the exception of one tie (2-2), Wayne State led the entire game.  The Wildcats took a 24-10 lead eight minutes into the contest following three straight baskets by senior center Brian Metz.  WSC pushed the lead to 27 points in the first half (44-17) before taking a 44-19 lead at halftime.  Minnesota, Crookston came out strong in the second half and outscored WSC 20-8 to get as close as 13 points at 52-39 with 12:26 remaining but that's as close as the Golden Eagles would get as WSC went on to the 74-56 win.

            Senior forward Brett Spiker led a balanced scoring effort for the Wildcats with 21 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth career double-double of the season.  Freshman guard Amry Shelby added 20 points and a career-high 10 assists for his first double-double.  Brian Metz and Brad Starken also reached double digits with 13 and 11 points respectively. 

            The Wildcats continue to shoot well from the field, making 32 of 56 shots for 57.1 percent.  It's the fifth time in the last six games that WSC has shot 55 percent or better from the floor.  WSC was 5 of 18 from the three point line and just 5 of 10 (50 percent) from the free throw stripe.

            For Minnesota, Crookston, freshman guard Damarius Cruz scored 19 points followed by Adam Hendricks with 12 and Kyle Risinger 10.  The Golden Eagles shot 23 of 49 from the field for 46.9 percent, making 5 of 17 three point shots and 5 of 7 from the free throw line.

            Wayne State held a commanding 35-17 advantage in rebounding over UMC thanks to Spiker's 10 rebounds while Metz and Starken added five boards apiece.  The Wildcats had a season-high 21 assists to just 11 turnovers while UMC had 10 assists and 13 turnovers.

            Wayne State will at home again on Sunday afternoon hosting MSU Moorhead in a Northern Sun Conference game starting at 4:00 p.m.