Southwest Minnesota State 58 Wayne State 56

Southwest Minnesota State used a jumper as time expired on Friday night to hand Wayne State a 58-56 loss. The loss drops Wayne State to 8-9 overall, 5-8 in the NSIC, while Southwest Minnesota State improves to 12-7, 9-4 in the league.
            The opening period saw four lead changes and four tied scores as the two teams exchanged buckets early. Joel Heesch got the Wildcats on the board first with a free throw a minute into the game, but baskets traded on the next three respective possessions kept the game within a point either way. The Mustangs took a four point lead on a William Gidding steal and layup with 14:21 remaining, but the game would soon be tied up again as Ryan Rolfzen drained a three and Ty Bauschek added a layup to knot the game at nine with 13:43 to play in the opening frame.  
            A 15-8 run by the Mustangs extended their lead to 24-17, the largest lead of the first half by either team, with 9:13 to play. But a 7-0 WSC run, highlighted by a pair of Adol Aluong layups and a Rolfzen jumper again knotted the game 24-24 with 5:17 in the half.
            While SMSU would use a three-pointer by Joey Bartlett to again take the lead, a fast break layup by Aluong and three-pointer from Bauschek gave WSC its first lead, 30-28, since 15:42 mark, bringing the crowd to its feet with just under three minutes remaining. Another Bauschek trifecta with just 23 seconds remaining gave WSC a 33-30 lead going into the locker room at the half.
            The opening minutes of the second half played true to the first half, with both teams exchanging baskets and SMSU taking its first lead of the second half, 34-33, with 19:05 to play. Back-to-back three-pointers from Kenny Finco swung the momentum back to the Wildcats, extending their lead to 39-34 with 17:09 to play.
            WSC then turned to free throws to continue to stay just out of the Mustangs' reach. The next six WSC points came via the charity stripe, three from Aluong and three from Bauschek. The Wildcats finished 13-25 from the free throw line on the night.
            But the Mustangs again fought back, using a layup and three-pointer by Shaun Condon to cut WSC's lead to 47-45 with 8:03 remaining in the game. A pair of free throws from Baschek and another Aluong layup extended the WSC lead again to three at the final media timeout of the game, 51-48 with 4:15 to play.
            SMSU regained the lead with 3:20 to play, as Vinard Birch sunk a trio of free throws and a layup to give the Mustangs a 53-51 lead. Another Birch layup with 2:22 to play and a free throw with 1:37 to play extended the Mustangs lead to 56-51, the largest SMSU lead of the half.
            The fight for the Wildcats was still on, however, as Bauschek drained a three pointer with 50 seconds on the clock, pulling the game to within two, 56-54.  It marked the first WSC point in three and a half minutes. A pair of Aluong free throws tied the game at 56 all with 21 seconds to play. But a Nick Smith jumper as time expired gave SMSU the 58-56 win.
            Wayne State was led by Adol Aluong's 21 points, while Ty Bauschek added 18. The Wildcats shot 42.2 percent (19-45) from the floor and 33.3 percent (5-15) from beyond the arc.
            Southwest Minnesota State had four players in double-figures, as William Giddings, Matt Zager had 11 each and Vinard Birch and Shaun Condon each poured in 10. As a team, the Mustangs shot 36.2 percent (21-58), while shooting 30.4 percent (7-23) from beyond the three point line.
            The rebounding edge also fell to the Mustangs, as they finished with a 38-37 edge on the boards. Ryan Rolfzen's nine boards led WSC on the night, while Nick Smith equaled the nine rebounds for the Mustangs. Joel Heesch dished off eight of WSC's 13 assists on the night, also swiping three steals for WSC.
The Wildcats will be in action again Saturday evening when the University of Sioux Falls visits Rice Auditorium for a 6 p.m. NSIC South Division game.