Wayne State 70 Winona State 63

            Wayne State rallied from a 59-53 deficit with 4:30 to play and used clutch baskets in the final minute to defeat Winona State 70-63 Saturday evening in a Northern Sun Conference South Division men's basketball game at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  The host Wildcats are now 5-6 overall (5-0 at home) and 2-1 in the NSIC while Winona State slips to 3-6 and 0-3 in league games.
            The Wildcats took early leads of 9-0 and 11-3, but soon found themselves down to Winona State 14-11 at the 11:16 mark.
            Winona State maintained the advantage the rest of the first half and built a 30-21 lead before WSC cut the deficit to 30-27 at intermission.
            With the score tied at 38-38 early in the second half (15:49), WSC used baskets from Ben Dentlinger and a 3-pointer from Nick Ferrarini to grab a 45-40 lead at the 12:50 mark.
            WSC still held a 47-44 lead with 9:18 to play before Winona State put together an 11-2 run to go in front 55-49 with 6:34 remaining.
            The Warriors still led 59-53 with 4:43 to play when WSC made their comeback.  A Henry Penner 3-pointer, a Jordan Janssen layup and a 3-point play by Nate Mohr gave the 'Cats a 61-59 lead. 
            Winona State's Kevion Taylor connected from the 3-point arc to give the Warriors their last lead at 62-61. 
            The score was tied at 63-63 with 1:18 to play when Wayne State came up big in the final minute.  A Ferrarini 3-pointer with 59 seconds left put the 'Cats in front for good at 66-63.  Mohr's jumper right of the lane put WSC ahead 68-63 with 18 seconds left and Janssen sealed the win with a pair of free throws with seven seconds left for the 70-63 win.
            Wayne State shot 26-54 from the field for 48.1 percent, but was just 5 of 20 from the 3-point line.  The 'Cats were a perfect 13-13 at the foul stripe.
            Janssen carried the Wildcats again with his eighth double-double of the year recording 28 points with 14 rebounds.  He was 9-12 from the field and a perfect 10-10 at the line.  Ferrarini finished with 12 points and Mohr had 10.
            For Winona State, Kevion Taylor poured in 19 points followed by Caleb Wagner with 16 and Alec Rosner 15. 
            The Warriors were 24-58 shooting for 41.4 percent and hit 10 of 26 from the 3-point line while going 5-9 at the line.
            WSC held a slight 33-30 edge in rebounding over Winona State with Janssen leading the 'Cats on the glass with 14 boards.  He also had a team-high five assists and two blocked shots along with Dentlinger.
            The Wildcats embark on a four-game road trip starting next weekend with NSIC road games at Bemidji State Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Minnesota Crookston Saturday in a 5:30 p.m. contest.