Wayne State 81 Winona State 79

            Wayne State College snapped an 18-game losing streak to Winona State that covered 10 years in men's basketball Saturday evening with a 81-79 victory over the Warriors at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  The Wildcats are now 4-16 overall and 1-13 in the NSIC while Winona State falls to 9-9 and 6-8 in league play.  The last win by WSC over Winona State in men's basketball was 87-84 in overtime on January 14, 2005 before Saturday's Wildcat win.
            The Wildcats used a late scoring flurry at the end of the first half to take the lead.  WSC held a 25-24 lead with 6:06 to play in the first half when Wildcat freshman Kendall Jacks scored nine straight points on an old-fashioned 3-point play followed by back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Wildcats a 34-25 lead.
            After Winona State pulled within four at 35-31, WSC ended the half with another Jacks trey and a 3-ball from Jordan Cornelius to give the Wildcats a 41-31 lead at intermission.
            WSC came out strong and pushed the lead to 17 points and 53-36 following a Cornelius jumper with 15:37 remaining. 
            Winona State rallied and got within five at 57-52 following a three-point play from Riley Bambenek at the 9:30 mark.  But WSC rebounded and pushed the lead to 13 at 72-59 on a Trae VandeBerg jumper with 4:54 to play.
            The visiting Warriors would not go away as Winona State slowly chipped away at the Wildcat advantage and got within three at 72-69 with 90 seconds to play.
            A Patrick Kurth three point play on the next possession put the 'Cats back up 75-69, but Winona State used four straight points from Bambenek to get within three at 76-73 with 20 seconds to play.
            Freshman Austin Esters canned two free throws followed by VandeBerg going 1 for 2 at the line to give WSC a 79-73 lead with 13 seconds left.
            Winona State's Conrad Masberg drained a 3-pointer with nine seconds left to cut the lead to 79-76, but VandeBerg was fouled on the inbounds and made both free throws for a 81-76 lead with six seconds left.  Masberg made another 3 with two seconds left to make the final score 81-79.
            Freshman Kendall Jacks led four Wildcat players in double figures, matching a season-high with 18 points on 6 of 12 shooting including 3 for 4 from downtown.  Senior center Patrick Kurth added 15 points while Trae VandeBerg and Jordan Cornelius also reached double digits with 13 and 12 respectively. 
            WSC shot an even 50 percent for the game making 28 of 56 shots.  The 'Cats were 10 of 23 from 3-point range and 15 of 24 at the free throw line.
            Conrad Masberg scored a game-high 21 points for Winona State.  Isaiah Gray added 15 points while Mark Blacklock and Tim Wagner each produced 11 points.
            Winona State also shot 50 percent from the field making 29 of 58 shots.  The Warriors were just 2 of 14 from behind the arc and 19 of 23 at the charity stripe.
            Wayne State was out-rebounded by the Warriors 35-30 as Blacklock hauled in 10 caroms for the Warriors while Jacks grabbed a career-high eight boards for the Wildcats.
            Winona State held a commanding 48-20 advantage on points in the paint, but had 15 turnovers to 12 by the Wildcats.  VandeBerg and Joel Heesch each had four assists for the Wildcats while Esters, Jacks and VandeBerg each had two steals in the contest.
            The Wildcats will be on the road next weekend, playing at Minot State Friday evening at 8 p.m. and the University of Mary Saturday in a 6 p.m. NSIC contest.