Junior reserve guard Kai Smith poured in a game-high 17 points, making all six shots from the field along with a trio of free throws, to lead Wayne State in a 68-63 Northern Sun Conference men's basketball win Saturday evening over Winona State.  The Wildcats improve to 7-2 and 1-2 in the NSIC while Winona State is now 7-2 and 2-1.  The win by Wildcat head coach Jeff Kaminsky now ties him for the all-time wins mark at WSC with a 121-114 record in his ninth season, matching the 121 wins (121-73) by Al Svenningson in his eight years as coach from 1959-67.
            Winona State raced to an early 8-0 lead and was in front 18-8 with 13:32 to play in the first half. 
            Wayne State then scored eight points in a row and used a 13-1 run to take a 21-19 lead with Smith scoring all 13 points for the Wildcats during the 4:23 scoring run.
            With WSC leading 25-24, the 'Cats used a 12-2 run to take a 37-26 advantage with 2:16 to play in the first half following a Landon Classen trey.
            The Wildcats closed the half with a 37-29 lead, shooting 53.8 percent (14-26) in the opening half.
            Wayne State never trailed in the second half, but held back several Winona State scoring runs to seal the win.
            A layup by Smith at the 15:19 mark saw Wayne State hold a 49-38 lead.
            After Winona State cut the deficit to four at 49-45, WSC went on a scoring surge to take their biggest lead of the game at 58-46 on a JJ Ferrin layup with 9:10 to play.
            The Warriors slowly cut into the WSC lead and were within two at 61-59 with 1:31 remaining.
            The next Wildcat possession resulted in a 3-pointer by Ferrin for a 64-59 lead.
            Winona State got as close as four at 66-62 and the Wildcats finished with the 68-63 victory.
            Smith's 17 points powered Wayne State in the win.  He was a perfect 6 of 6 from the floor including 2 of 2 behind the arc while making his three free throws.  Cody McCullough added 14 points with Ferrin scoring 11.
            Wayne State shot 49 percent on 25 of 51, going 10 of 26 behind the arc and 8 for 11 at the foul stripe.
            Connor Drew had 15 points for Winona State.  Tyler Mason chipped in 14, Luke Haertle and Jhei-R Jones each had 11 and Isaiah Thompson scored 10.
            Winona State made 21 of 52 shots for 40.4 percent, going 10 of 29 from the 3-point line.  WSU was 11 for 17 at the free throw line.
            Winona State won the rebounding battle 33-28.  McCullough and Ferrin each had five boards for WSC.  McCullough had a team-high three assists and two blocked shots while Sean Stokes had three steals.
            Wayne State is on the road next weekend for NSIC games at Concordia-St. Paul Friday at 7:30 p.m. and at #11 Minnesota Duluth Saturday at 5:30 p.m.