Box Score Wayne State 84 Concordia-St. Paul 76

           Wayne State College used a strong finish and four players in double figures to defeat Concordia-St. Paul 84-76 in Northern Sun Conference men's basketball Friday evening at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  WSC improves to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in the NSIC while Concordia-St. Paul is now 2-4 and 0-1 in league play.
            The Wildcats took a 9-4 lead to start the game.  But visiting Concordia-St. Paul went on a 13-3 run over the next 5:01 and took a 17-12 lead on the 'Cats with 11:19 to play in the first half.
            WSC would tie the score at 19 following a three-point play with 6:51 remaining before halftime.  Concordia-St. Paul responded with nine of the next 11 points and took the biggest lead of the first half at seven, 28-21, with 4:21 to play.
            The Wildcats closed the first half strong and took the lead into the locker room at 32-31 thanks to a three-point play from Austin Esters.
            The second half was a back and forth battle that featured four ties and six lead changes with neither team leading by more than six points until the final minute of the game.
            Sophomore Matt Thomas opened the second half with a three point play to give the Wildcats a four point lead at 35-31.  Then, CU went on a 12-2 run and took their biggest lead of the second half at six, 43-37, with 15:46 to go in the game.
            Wayne State followed with a run of their own, scoring the next nine points in 2:30, to take a 46-43 lead on a Thomas jumper at the 13:16 mark.
            The Wildcats held the lead for the next five minutes until Concordia-St. Paul grabbed a four point advantage at 55-51 on a Shea Mandl layup with 8:21 left.  WSC rallied in the next four minutes to take the lead for good.
            Down 61-59 with 6:11 to play, Thomas and Joel Heesch combined for the next 10 points in a 10-3 run that gave WSC the lead for good at 69-64 with 3:29 to play following a Heesch layup.
            Concordia-St. Paul got as close as three at 73-70 with 1:54 remaining, then WSC used a Thomas 3-pointer, an Austin Esters layup followed by a basket and free throw from Thomas to give the 'Cats an 81-70 lead with 43 seconds to play before the Wildcats finished with the 84-76 win.
            Wayne State finished the game 29 of 61 for 47.5 percent, going 8 for 22 behind the arc and 18 of 24 at the charity stripe.
            Thomas poured in a game-high 27 points, his third game of 25 or more points this season, to lead four Wildcats in double figures.  Esters finished with 13 points followed by Jordan Cornelius and Heesch with 11 and 10 respectively.
            Concordia-St. Paul made 28 of 57 shots from the field for 49 percent.  The Bears were 9 for 13 from the 3-point line and 11 of 18 from the foul stripe.
            The Golden Bears held a 39-29 advantage in rebounding over WSC with Heesch hauling in seven caroms to lead the Wildcats.  WSC had just nine turnovers to 16 on Concordia-St. Paul.  The 'Cats had 18 assists in the game with Thomas and Cornelius recording four apiece.  Freshman center Spencer Pauley had three blocked shots for the 'Cats.
            Wayne State will play again Saturday night welcoming Minnesota State to Rice Auditorium for a 6 p.m. NSIC contest.