Minnesota State 89 Wayne State 78

            Minnesota State's Kevin Krieger scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the first half to lead the host Mavericks in a 89-78 victory over Wayne State College Saturday evening in Northern Sun Conference men's basketball played at the Taylor Center in Mankato, Minnesota.  It was Minnesota State's 14^th straight win over the Wildcats dating back to 2012 and forced a tie between the two teams for first place in the NSIC South Division.  Both teams are now 13-7 in league play with WSC at 18-8 overall and MSU at 17-9.
            WSC trailed early by scores of 8-2 and 10-5.  The 'Cats used back-to-back baskets from Vance Janssen and a tip in from Jordan Janssen to take their only lead of the game at 11-10. 
            The lead lasted 24 seconds as Minnesota State scored six of the next seven points for a 16-12 lead.
            The Wildcats were within three at 23-20 following a Jordan Janssen basket with 8:21 left in the half.
            Minnesota State scored the next four points for a 27-20 lead and took their first double digit lead at 37-27 as MSU's Kevin Krieger scored the Mavericks' final eight points of the half giving MSU a 42-29 lead at intermission.
            The Mavericks never allowed WSC a chance for a comeback in the second half, maintaining a double digit lead thanks to hot shooting as MSU made 6 of their first 7 shots and 9 of 14 midway through the second half to stave off the Wildcats.
            Minnesota State built a 70-50 lead at the 9:17 mark, but a 10-2 WSC run cut into the Maverick lead at 72-60 after a Nate Mohr 3-pointer with 6:16 left.
            WSC finally cut the deficit to single digits with 1:06 to play when Vance Janssen recorded a back court steal and layup to make the score 83-74. 
            But the Mavericks scored on their next two possessions to push the lead back to 13 at 87-74 and finished with the 89-78 win.
            Senior forward Kendall Jacks led Wayne State in scoring with 17 points, becoming the schools' all-time leader in scoring in NSIC games with 1,183 points.  The old mark was held by Amry Shelby (2009-13) at 1,179 points.  Jacks is now 19^th all-time in NSIC scoring.
            Other Wildcats in double figures were Nick Ferrarini with 16 points and Vance and Jordan Janssen at 14 each.
            Wayne State made 29 of 67 shots from the field for 43.3 percent, but was just 4 of 19 from the 3-point line.  The 'Cats made 16 of 20 (80%) at the charity stripe.
            Krieger led Minnesota State with his game-high 24 points followed by Carlos Anderson with 20.  Cameron Kirksey added 17 with Tre Baumgardner scoring 10.
            MSU connected on 33 of 57 shots from the field for 57.9 percent, including 18-27 (66.7%) in the second half.  The Mavericks were 9 of 22 behind the arc and 14-17 at the free throw line.
            The Mavericks out-rebounded WSC 37-28 with Jordan Janssen grabbing eight boards for WSC.
            Jacks was credited with four assists while Vance Janssen and Nate Mohr each had three steals.
            Wayne State will be at home next weekend to conclude the regular season, entertaining Southwest Minnesota State Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Sioux Falls Saturday in a 5:30 p.m. contest.