Wayne State College sank 16 3-pointers while shooting nearly 55 percent for the game in defeating Clarke University of Iowa 106-46 Saturday afternoon in the final non-conference men's basketball game of the season for the Wildcats at Rice Auditorium.  It was the 18^th straight non-conference win for Wayne State, now 6-1 on the season, while the game was an exhibition contest for the 1-6 Pride.
            After Clarke opened the game with an early 7-3 lead, Wayne State scored the next 17 points in 4:41 to take a 20-7 lead following a Kai Smith 3-pointer and back-to-back treys by JJ Ferrin. 
            Clarke cut into the deficit temporarily and got within seven at 24-17 with 9:11 to play in the half.  But Wayne State put the game out of reach with a 15-2 run over the next 5:24 to take a 39-19 lead with 3:34 remaining in the half.
            Wayne State finished the opening half with a 50-23 lead, holding the Pride to 27 percent shooting (9-33) while the 'Cats hit 16 of 33 for 48 percent.
            The 'Cats scored the first seven points of the second half and used red-hot shooting in the second half, making 8 of 11 3-pointers and 23 of 38 shots from the field for 60.5 percent, to produce 56 points in the second half and finish with a 106-46 victory.
            It's the first regulation 100-point game for the Wildcats since defeating Nebraska Christian in the 2017-18 season (11/15/18) by a score of 101-52.
            12 of 13 Wildcats scored in the win, led by Ferrin with 17 points on 5 of 10 shooting from the 3-point line.  Cody McCullough followed with 15 points, Matt Noll and Kai Smith each scored 12 and Wade Voss added 10.
            Wayne State made 39 of 71 shots from the field for 54.9 percent, including 16 of 31 from the 3-point line for 51.6 percent.  The 16 3-pointers by WSC were tied for the second-most in a single game in school history and the most 3-pointers in a game since 1996 (1/31/96) when the Wildcats sank 16 treys vs. Northern State.
            Maximiliano Bowman scored 10 points to lead Clarke.  The Pride shot 27 percent from the field on 16 of 59 shots, going 7 of 27 from the 3-point line and 7 for 11 at the free throw stripe.
            WSC held a 56-25 advantage in rebounding thanks to eight boards from McCullough and six each by Noah Erickson and Nassir Binion.
            Ferrin led WSC with four assists while McCullough had four blocked shots and a team-high four steals.
            The Wildcats return to Northern Sun Conference play next weekend hosting Minnesota State at 7:30 p.m. and Winona State Saturday in a 5:30 p.m. contest.