Box Score Minnesota State 77 Wayne State 72

            Minnesota State rallied in the final five minutes to overcome an 11-point second half deficit as the Mavericks edged the Wayne State College Wildcats 77-72 in Northern Sun Conference men's basketball Friday evening at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  MSU is now 5-1 and 1-0 in the NSIC while WSC drops to 1-6 and 0-2 in league play.
            Wayne State trailed a good share of the first half until a scoring surge at the end of the half gave the Wildcats a 36-30 lead at intermission.
            MSU held a 26-20 lead with 5:34 to go in the half when WSC used a pair of Kendall Jacks baskets and 3-pointers from Luke TerHark and Brian Goodwin gave the 'Cats a 30-28 lead.  Jacks, Austin Esters and Vance Janssen scored baskets in the final two minutes to put WSC ahead 36-30 at halftime.
            The Wildcats carried the momentum into the second half and built an 11-point lead at 43-32 on a pair of Matt Thomas free throws with 17:03 to play.
            WSC still held a nine-point advantage at 54-45 with 8:00 to play when Minnesota State began their charge on the Wildcats.  A Charlie Brown 3-point play gave MSU a 57-56 lead at the 4:35 mark.
            Wayne State's final lead came at 58-57 following a pair of Janssen free throws.  Minnesota State then scored nine of the next 11 points for a 66-60 lead with 2:49 to play.
            The Mavericks held off the Wildcats by making 11 of 12 free throws in the final 90 seconds while never letting WSC get closer than four points and the Mavericks held on for the 77-72 win.
            Wayne State was 25 of 59 from the field for 42.4 percent including 5 of 19 from 3-point range.  The 'Cats were 17 for 24 at the charity stripe.
            Jacks led WSC with 20 points followed by Janssen with 17 and Matt Thomas 15.
            Minnesota State made 25 of 55 shots from the field for 45.5 percent.  The Mavericks were 6 of 22 behind the arc and 21 for 24 at the free throw line.
            Charlie Brown led MSU in scoring with a game-high 26 points followed by Jon Fuqua with 17 and Aarias Austin 11.
            MSU held a 34-31 edge in rebounding on WSC with Esters grabbing eight boards for the Wildcats. 
            Wayne State will be home again Saturday evening entering Concordia-St. Paul with tipoff set for 6 p.m.