Sophomore guard David Harmon poured in a career-high 21 points on 9 of 14 shooting to lead Wayne State past Southwest Minnesota State 73-62 Tuesday evening in the Northern Sun Conference men's basketball opener for both teams played at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  The Wildcats are now 6-0 and 1-0 in the league while the Mustangs are now 2-0 and 0-1 in the NSIC.
            Southwest Minnesota State held the lead early on the Wildcats, holding a 14-6 lead six minutes into the contest.  The Wildcats then scored the next nine points and took their first lead of the game at 15-14 following a layup by Elijah Watson. 
            The Mustangs scored four straight points to take an 18-15 lead, but a jumper by Harmon followed by a 3-pointer gave WSC the lead for good at 28-18.  The 'Cats pushed the lead to nine at 28-19 and after SMSU got within four at 28-24 WSC ended the half with a 34-26 lead.
            A 3-pointer by Harmon at the 17:14 mark of the second half gave the Wildcats their first double digit advantage of the night at 39-29.  A 6-0 scoring run by WSC gave the 'Cats a 45-29 lead with 14:52 remaining.
            A Noah Erickson layup with 11:06 to play saw Wayne State take its biggest lead of the night at 49-31.
            SMSU slowly cut into the Wildcat lead and got as close as seven at 67-60 with 1:17 left in the contest, but the Wildcats sealed the win making 6 of 8 free throws to end the game resulting in a 73-62 victory.
            Harmon's career-high 21 points off the bench led Wayne State in scoring.  He was 9 of 14 from the and 3 of 5 from downtown while also recording four assists and three steals.  Junior forward Cody McCullough added a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds and was 11 for 12 at the free throw line.
            Wayne State shot 47.2 percent from the field making 25 of 53 shots, including 6 for 17 from the 3-point line, while making 17 of 22 free throws.
            For Southwest Minnesota State, Jake Phipps had 18 points and 14 rebounds with Cliff Cofield also hitting double figures scoring 14.
            Southwest Minnesota State made 23 of 59 shots for 39 percent and was 5 for 19 behind the arc.  The Mustangs made 11 of 17 free throws.
            SMSU held a 37-32 edge in rebounding with McCullough grabbing 11 boards for the 'Cats.  Harmon led WSC in assists and steals while Trey Deveaux and McCullough each had one blocked shot.
            The Wildcats play again Saturday afternoon hosting in-state rival Nebraska-Kearney at 3 p.m. in Rice Auditorium.