Wayne State 74 Southwest Minnesota State 69 OT
The Wayne State men's basketball team improved to 4-1 in overtime games this season by outlasting Southwest Minnesota State Friday evening 74-69 in Northern Sun Conference action at Rice Auditorium in Wayne. With the win, WSC moved into sole possession of eighth place in the NSIC with a 7-9 league record and 11-9 overall while the visiting Mustangs drop to a tie for ninth place with Northern State at 6-10 in league play and 9-11 overall.
After Brad Starken opened the game with a three pointer to put the 'Cats up early 3-0, Southwest Minnesota State held the lead for the remainder of the first half. The Mustangs built a 15-7 lead with 11:42 to go in the half on a Nick Smith layup and two other eight point leads in the half. With SMSU lead 22-14, WSC scored the next seven points and pulled within one at 22-21 on a Starken three pointer with 5:34 left in the half. A jumper by Wayne State's Jason Jensen tied the score at 25-25 with 1:17 to go in the half before a layup by Scott Roehl of Southwest Minnesota State put the Mustangs in front 27-25 at halftime.
The Mustangs built a 37-30 advantage early in the second half on a layup by Lavione West, but WSC rallied and knotted the score at 40-40 on a layup by Jensen with 8:54 remaining in regulation. Wayne State took a pair of four point leads late in the game, but SMSU came back.
A pair of Brad Starken free throws gave WSC a 51-47 lead with 2:45 to play, but the Mustangs used baskets from Roehl and Trent Carlson to even the score at 51-51 with 1:47 to play. A Jason Jensen basket and two free throws by Amry Shelby with 26 seconds to play gave WSC a 55-51 lead. But a three point play by Mustang freshman Vinard Birch cut the Wildcat lead to one at 55-54 with 21 seconds left. Wayne State's Derrell Williams then made one of two free throws with 18 seconds to go giving WSC a two point lead at 56-54. Southwest Minnesota State's Scott Roehl tied the score at 56-56 on a jumper in the lane with nine seconds to play. WSC had a chance to win the game in regulation, but a Jason Jensen jumper from 17 feet left of the free throw circle was off the side of the rim sending the game into overtime.
SMSU held an early lead in overtime, but WSC reeled off nine straight points and held the Mustangs scoreless for a stretch of 2:53 in the extra session to take control of the game. With SMSU leading 60-58 following a Scott Roehl jumper with 3:34 to go in overtime, the Wildcats tied the score at 60-60 on a Vontrell Seroyer layup. Another big play was a three point play by Derrell Williams with 1:40 remaining in overtime pushing the WSC lead to 64-60. Jason Jensen made two free throws and Derrell Williams hit one of two free throws with 47 seconds remaining to increase the WSC advantage to 67-60. SMSU stayed close by hitting several three pointers late, but WSC made five of six free throws in the final 32 seconds to seal the 74-69 overtime win over the Mustangs.
Jason Jensen finished with a season-high 21 points to lead the Wildcats in scoring while Brad Starken chipped in 13 points. Ben Tasa and Derrell Williams also reached double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively. WSC shot 43.6 percent for the game, making 24 of 55 shots including 4 of 14 from the three point line. The 'Cats were 22 of 33 at the charity stripe.
For Southwest Minnesota State, Scott Roehl accounted for 14 points and 15 rebounds while Matt Zager also scored 14 points. Vinard Birch added 13 points for the Mustangs, who shot 49 percent for the game making 27 of 55 shots. SMSU was 6 of 13 behind the three point line and 9 of 17 at the free throw stripe.
SMSU outrebounded WSC 37-30 thanks to 15 rebounds from Roehl while Williams hauled in eight caroms for the Wildcats. The Mustangs had 19 turnovers in the game to just eight for WSC.
Wayne State will be at home again Saturday evening entertaining NSIC leader and 10th-ranked Minnesota State in a 6:00 p.m. Northern Sun Conference contest at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.
