Augustana led from start to finish, using 57 percent field goal shooting to defeat Wayne State College 94-86 Tuesday evening in the NSIC men's basketball opener for both teams at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  The Wildcats drop to 3-2 and 0-1 in the NSIC with the Vikings moving to 2-3 and 1-0.
            The Vikings took an early 9-2 lead on the 'Cats and built an early 11-point advantage at 27-16 with 11:04 to play in the opening half.
            WSC made a charge at the Vikings and closed to within six at 30-24 on a Eldon Turner 3-pointer at the 9:39 mark.  But the Vikings scored eight of the next nine points and pushed the lead back to 13 at 38-25 and ended the first half with a 48-38 lead.
            The Wildcats made the first two baskets of the second half, both by sophomore forward Matt Noll, to get within six at 48-42.  But that's the closest Augustana would let the Wildcats get to them in the second half.
            WSC was still within seven at 63-56 with 11:32 to play, but Augustana put the game out of reach scoring the next 10 points for a comfortable 73-56 lead with nine minutes to play.
            The Vikings maintained a double-digit advantage for the rest of the game until the final minute when WSC cut the deficit to eight points and the final score of 94-86.
            Junior guard JJ Ferrin scored 23 points on 8 for 13 shooting from the field to lead Wayne State in scoring.  Noll contributed 17 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double.  Kai Smith (15) and Ben Kerkhoff (14) also reached double digits for the Wildcats.
            Wayne State shot 50.8 percent from the field making 31 of 61 shots and was 10 for 25 behind the arc while making 14 of 19 free throws.
            Augustana had six players in double figures led by Caden Hinker with 22 points and 11 rebounds.  Tameron Ferguson chipped in 20 points with 11 assists while Tanner Te Slaa accounted for 15.  Conner Kraft scored 12 with Bennett Fried and Sam Rensch each pouring in 10.
            The Vikings shot 57.1 percent from the field connecting on 36 of 63 shots.  Augustana was 11 of 21 from 3-point range and 11 for 22 at the line.
            WSC held a slight 35-33 edge in rebounding with Noll's 11 boards leading the way.  Kai Smith handed out a team-high five assists with Eldon Turner getting four.
            The Wildcats next game is Saturday afternoon when WSC visits Nebraska-Kearney in a non-conference contest starting at 4 p.m.