#10 Minnesota State 75 Wayne State 62
Minnesota State shot a sizzling 65.9 percent from the field (27 of 41) as the NCAA Division II 10th-ranked Mavericks defeated Wayne State College 75-62 Saturday evening in Northern Sun Conference men's basketball played at Rice Auditorium in Wayne. The NSIC leading Mavericks improve to 19-2 overall and 15-2 in league play while Wayne State slips to 11-10 on the season and 7-10 in the Northern Sun Conference.
After Minnesota State opened the game with a 7-4 lead, Wayne State reeled off seven straight points and took an 11-7 lead on a Ben Tasa layin with 13:29 to play in the first half. Minnesota State responded with an 11-4 run and took an 18-15 lead on a Jimmy Whitehead three pointer with 10:25 to go in the half. WSC remained close and pulled within two at 24-22 on a Brad Starken three pointer with 7:24 left until halftime.
The Mavericks then went on an 11-0 run over the next 4:11 and took a 35-22 lead following back to back baskets by Jefferson Mason with one being a dunk. Minnesota State closed the half with a 39-27 lead at intermission thanks to 68 percent field goal shooting (15 of 22) in the first half.
Despite Minnesota State continuing its red hot shooting in the second half, Wayne State made a run at the Mavericks and got within five points at 48-43 on a Brad Starken layup with 13:34 remaining in the game. Minnesota State then slowly pulled away and took its biggest lead of the game at 16 points on a Joe Drapcho jumper with 4:59 to play making the score 68-52 as the Mavericks went on to post the 75-62 win over the Wildcats.
Junior guard Vontrell Seroyer led Wayne State in scoring with a career-high 19 points, going 6 of 9 from the field and 4 for 5 at the free throw stripe. Brad Starken added 18 points while Jason Jensen finished with 11. The Wildcats shot a respectable 47.7 percent from the field making 21 of 44 shots, including 7 of 16 from the three point line. WSC was 13 of 16 at the free throw stripe.
For Minnesota State, Joe Drapcho poured in a career-high 20 points, making 7 of 7 shots from the field, including 4 for 4 behind the three point line, and 2 of 3 at the free throw stripe. Jefferson Mason also reached double figures for the Mavericks with 18 points. Minnesota State finished the game making 27 of 41 shots for 65.9 percent, hitting on 7 of 14 from the three point line along with 14 of 22 at the free throw stripe.
Both teams finished with 23 rebounds as Mason hauled in six rebounds for Minnesota State while Wayne State's top rebounders were Derrell Williams and Ben Tasa with four each. WSC had 17 turnovers to 13 for Minnesota State.
Wayne State will be on the road next weekend, playing at the University of Mary Friday and Northern State Saturday in Northern Sun Conference games starting at 8:00 p.m. each night.
