Box Score Bemidji State 79 Wayne State 69

            Bemidji State outscored Wayne State 50-40 in the second half to snap a 29-29 halftime tie, giving the Beavers a 79-69 Northern Sun Conference men's basketball win over the Wildcats Saturday evening at the BSU Gymnasium in Bemidji, Minnesota.  The host Beavers move to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the NSIC while dropping Wayne State to 2-7 and 1-4 in league play.
            Wayne State never trailed in the first half as the Wildcats took a 10-0 lead in the opening 3:04 of the game.  Four different Wildcats scored to open the game, highlighted by a 3-pointer from Vance Janssen. 
            After BSU scored seven straight points to trim the Wildcat lead to 12-9, WSC responded with a 13-5 run over a span of 6:08 and took a 25-14 lead on a Matt Thomas 3-pointer with 7:03 to play in the half.
            But Wayne State had just two baskets the rest of the half and Bemidji State closed the half strong for a 29-29 tie.
            Bemidji State opened the second half making their first six shots from the field, taking a 44-36 lead on the Wildcats with 16:40 remaining.
            Wayne State got as close as three on an Austin Esters layup with 14:26 to play at 46-43.  Bemidji State then put the game out of reach with a 13-2 run, putting the Beavers ahead 59-45 with 10:47 remaining.
            The Wildcats rallied one last time and were within six at 69-63 on an Esters layup with 4:00 to play before the Beavers pushed the lead back to double digits finishing with the 79-69 win.
            Wayne State ended the game making 28 of 62 shots for 45.2 percent, going 7 of 13 from downtown and 6 for 13 at the free throw line.
            Thomas was the lone Wildcat in double figures with 14 points.  Freshman center Spencer Pauley, Brian Goodwin and David Andersen each produced nine points for WSC.
            Bemidji State's Ben Best poured in a game-high 28 points for the Beavers with Irvin Womack and DJ Anderson also reaching double figures with 12 and 11 respectively.
            The Beavers were 27 of 61 shooting (44.3%), 3 of 12 behind the arc (25%) and 22 of 29 (75.9%) at the foul line.
            Wayne State held a 41-36 edge in rebounding over the Beavers thanks to nine boards by Andersen and seven from Joel Heesch.  Best led Bemidji State with a game-high 11 caroms.
            The Wildcats had 21 turnovers compared to just 12 on Bemidji State.  Heesch had six assists and two blocked shots for Wayne State. 
            Wayne State returns to action Saturday playing a 6 p.m. contest at #2 Augustana University in Sioux Falls.