Wayne State 85 Minnesota Crookston 74

            Junior guard Trevin Joseph poured in a season-high 26 points, going 8 of 12 from the field and 9 for 10 at the charity stripe, to lead the Wayne State College men's basketball team to an 85-74 Northern Sun Conference road victory at Minnesota Crookston Saturday evening in Crookston, Minnesota.  The 'Cats are now 13-13 and 8-10 in the NSIC while the host Golden Eagles drop to 9-15 and 6-12 in league play.
            The Wildcats, who trailed 35-34 at intermission, used 57 percent shooting in the second half (16-28) and a sizeable 46-18 advantage on points in the paint, to rally for the win.
            After building an eight point lead (20-12) early in the first half and holding the lead for most of the first half, WSC found themselves trailing at halftime as Minnesota Crookston rallied for a 35-30 lead late in the half before finishing with a 35-34 advantage on the Wildcats.
            The second half was close early as the two teams traded the lead five times to go with five ties.
            The game's final tie came at 45-45 with 14:25 to play.  WSC took the lead for good with the next seven points and took a 52-45 lead on a Matt Thomas trey with 12:37 to play.
            UMC got within two at 56-54, but WSC started to pull away in the final five minutes of the game and took their first double-digit lead of the night at 72-62 on a Joseph 3-point play with 3:11 remaining. 
            WSC then sealed the win by making free throws late in the contest and was 15 of 17 in the second half to finish off the Golden Eagles for the 85-74 win.
            Joseph's season-high 26 points led the Wildcats in scoring.  Kendall Jacks contributed 18 points in the win while Austin Esters and Tony Bonner each accounted for 12.
            WSC shot 50.9 percent for the game, going 29 of 57 from the field and 4 for 12 from the 3-point line.  The Wildcats sank season-best 23 of 25 from the free throw line for 92 percent. 
            The Wildcats improved to 9-1 on the season when shooting 50 percent or better in a game.
            Harrison Cleary, the leading scorer in the NSIC, scored 23 points to lead Minnesota Crookston in scoring followed by Ben Juhl with 21 points.
            Minnesota Crookston was 23 of 57 from the field for 40.4 percent, including 8 for 21 behind the arc.  UMC was 20 for 25 at the free throw line.
            WSC held a slim 34-32 edge in rebounding over the Golden Eagles thanks to eight boards from Jacks and seven by Bonner. 
            The Wildcats held a commanding 46-18 advantage on points in the paint, 19-15 in points off turnovers and 23-12 in bench points.
            Vance Janssen had three assists for the 'Cats while Joseph and Matt Thomas each had two steals.
            The Wildcats will play their final home games of the season next weekend, facing Southwest Minnesota State Friday night at 8 p.m. and Sioux Falls Saturday in a 6 p.m. contest at Rice Auditorium.