Box Score Minnesota State 76 Wayne State 59

            Wayne State College went 8:30 without a basket midway through the second half as Minnesota State pulled away for a 76-59 Northern Sun Conference men's basketball win over the Wildcats Saturday evening at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  MSU is now 6-2 and 1-1 in league play while WSC falls to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in the NSIC.
            Despite shooting 63.6 percent in the first half (14 of 22), the Wildcats trailed for a majority of the first half that featured three ties and eight lead changes early. 
            Wayne State held an early 8-4 lead following an Adam Moon layup 3:07 into the contest.  MSU then scored the next five points for a 9-8 lead.  
            The two teams then traded baskets and leads.  Wayne State took their final lead at 16-14 on a Matt Thomas 3-pointer with 12:26 to go in the half.  The Mavericks then scored the next seven points over a span of 2:13 to take a 21-16 lead on WSC at the 10:13 mark of the half.
            Wayne State got within one numerous times in the first half, but the Mavericks pushed the lead to seven at 35-28 with 4:05 to go before halftime and held a 37-33 lead at intermission.
            Minnesota State increased their lead to nine early in the second half at 48-39 with 16:16 to play.  Wayne State cut into the Maverick advantage and got within three at 51-48 on a Thomas 3-pointer with 13:20 remaining.
            But WSC went cold from the field, going 8:31 without a basket while scoring just three points as Minnesota State took control of the game leading 67-51 before Austin Esters converted a layup to end the scoreless drought at the 4:49 mark to make the score 67-53.  
            Sophomore guard Tyler Nagy's two free throws got WSC within 12 at 67-55, but MSU used a 3-pointer by Snoop Viser and a Alex Herink free throw to go back up 16 at 71-55 and the Mavericks went on to the 76-59 win.
            Wayne State finished the game making 22 of 47 shots for 46.8 percent.  The 'Cats made 4 of 15 from the 3-point line and 11 for 17 at the charity stripe.
            Sophomore Matt Thomas led the Wildcats in scoring with 12 points followed by sophomore forward Adam Moon with 10.
            Minnesota State was 29 of 53 from the field (54.7%), making 10 of 19 from the 3-point line and 8 for 17 at the charity stripe.
            The Mavericks had five players in double figures led by Mike Busack with 22 points and 10 rebounds.  Joey Witthus added 14 points with Jon Fuqua and Jalen Pendleton each scoring 11 and Snoop Viser with 10.
            Minnesota State won the rebounding battle over WSC 34-25 with Busack grabbing 10 boards for the Mavericks.  Wayne State's top rebounder was Jordan Cornelius with seven.
            WSC had 15 turnovers in the game to 13 on Minnesota State.  Cornelius and Jordan Heesch each had three assists for the Wildcats. 
            The Wildcats will be on the road next weekend, visiting Minnesota Crookston Friday night at 8 p.m. and Bemidji State Saturday in a 6 p.m. contest.