#20 Minnesota State 76 Wayne State 57

            #20 Minnesota State held Wayne State to a season-low 28 percent shooting (16 of 57) as the Mavericks defeated the Wildcats 76-57 in Northern Sun Conference men's basketball Saturday evening at the Taylor Center in Mankato, Minnesota.  The host Mavericks improve to 16-3 on the season and 10-2 in the NSIC South while Wayne State is now 8-8 overall and 5-7 in league play.
            Wayne State's lone lead of the game was 2-0 when Ty Bauschek drained a pair of free throws 1:37 into the game.  The Mavericks scored nine unanswered points to take the lead for good at 9-2.  WSC got as close as three at 13-10 following Bauschek's three free throws with 12:46 to go in the first half.  But the Mavericks put the game out of reach with a 16-2 run and took a 29-12 lead with nine minutes to play in the first half.
            The Wildcats got within nine at 33-24 with 4:40 to go before intermission on a Damjan Sredanovic basket before Minnesota State finished the first half with a 40-29 lead.
            Minnesota State maintained a double digit lead the entire second half and built a 23 point lead at 67-44 with 5:44 remaining before finishing with the 76-57 win over the Wildcats.
            Wayne State's lone double figure scorer was Ty Bauschek with 17 points, including 10 for 11 at the free throw line.   The Wildcats shot a season-low 28.1 percent from the field making just 16 of 57 shots, including 4 of 18 from the 3-point line and 21 of 28 at the charity stripe.
            Minnesota State had four players in double figures with Gage Wooten scoring 15 points.  Assem Marei had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds while Connor O'Brien and Mike Busack also reached double figures with 13 and 11 points each.
            The Mavericks made 27 of 61 shots for 44.3 percent, sinking 9 of 26 from 3-point range and 13 for 19 at the free throw stripe.
            MSU held a 47-34 advantage in rebounding over the Wildcats thanks to Marei's 13 rebounds.  Wayne State's top rebounder was Damjan Sredanovic with eight while David Andersen grabbed seven.
            Wayne State will be at home next weekend, hosting Southwest Minnesota State Friday evening at 8 p.m. followed by a 6 p.m. Saturday evening contest against the University of Sioux Falls.