Box Score Minnesota State 75 Wayne State 74

            Minnesota State's Jamal Nixon made one of two free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining to hand Wayne State College a heartbreaking 75-74 loss Saturday evening in Northern Sun Conference basketball played at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  The Wildcats fall to 10-8 and 5-5 in the NSIC while MSU is now 12-3 and 8-1 in league play.
            Wayne State led for a good share of the first half, building an early 11-3 lead on the Mavericks thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers from Brian Goodwin.
            With WSC leading 16-7, Minnesota State went on a 13-3 run to take a 20-19 lead the 6:19 mark of the half.
            Minnesota State later built a 30-26 lead, but WSC closed the half with seven straight points to take a 33-30 lead at intermission.
            The Wildcats maintained the lead for much of the second half, building its biggest lead of the night at nine (55-46) following a pair of Vance Janssen free throws with 11:51 remaining.
            The Mavericks rallied again, going on a 11-2 run to even the score at 57-57 with 9:05 to play.
            Tied at 65-65 with 4:31 remaining, Minnesota State reeled off seven straight points and took a 72-65 lead with 3:13 left.  But WSC came back and scored the next seven points and knotted the score at 72-72 on a Janssen layup with 1:16 to play.
            Two Jordan Cornelius free throws gave the 'Cats a 74-72 lead with 41 seconds left.
            MSU's Charlie Brown was fouled with 30.9 seconds to play to tie the score at 74.
            Wayne State played for the final shot and Janssen's layup was partially blocked by Chris Kendrix and Jamal Nixon was fouled on the rebound.  Nixon then made one of two free throws with 2.5 remaining to give the Mavericks a 75-74 lead.
            The inbounds pass to just past mid court was caught by Kendall Jacks and his 35-foot 3-pointer skimmed off the front rim as the Mavericks escaped with the narrow win.
            Janssen was one of five Wildcats in double figures with 13 points.  Jacks, Trevin Joseph and Brian Goodwin each produced 11 points while sophomore reserve center Tony Bonner added 10 points.
            Wayne State ended the game making 28 of 61 shots for 45.9 percent, including 5 of 12 behind the arc.  The 'Cats were 13 of 18 (72.2%) at the free throw stripe.
            Minnesota State's top scorer was Kevin Krieger with 22 points.  Chris Kendrix scored 18 points with Carlos Anderson adding 13.
            The Mavericks connected on 28 of 60 shots for 46.7 percent, going 5 for 14 from the 3-point line and 14 of 19 at the charity stripe.
            Minnesota State held a 41-30 advantage in rebounding on the Wildcats.  Jacks had seven boards for WSC.
            WSC had a commanding 24-4 edge in points off turnovers, forcing 18 MSU miscues while WSC had 12.
            Trevin Joseph had four assists and five steals in the loss.  The game featured nine ties and 13 lead changes.
            The Wildcats will be on the road next weekend, visiting #13 Northern State Friday night at 8 p.m. and MSU Moorhead Saturday for a 6 p.m. contest.