Minnesota State used a 15-0 scoring run in the final 4:21 to rally for a 71-60 Northern Sun Conference men's basketball victory over Wayne State Thursday evening at Bresnan Arena in the Taylor Center in Mankato, Minnesota.  The host Mavericks improve to 7-5 on the season and 1-3 in the NSIC while WSC drops to 5-5 and 1-3 in league play.
            Wayne State trailed nearly the entire first half, trailing by as much as 10 points before surging late in the first half to cut the deficit to one at intermission.
            Senior forward Andrew Stokes scored the first basket of the game for WSC 29 seconds into the contest.  The Mavericks then held the 'Cats without a basket for the next 6:14 as MSU took a 9-3 lead. 
            Minnesota State pushed the advantage to 10 at 19-9 at the 9:49 mark of the half.  WSC cut the margin to four at 23-19 following a JJ Ferrin 3-pointer with 4:36 to play before halftime.  After MSU built the lead back to seven – 26-19 with 2:49 to play in the half – Wayne State closed the half strong using baskets from Matt Noll and Darshan Thomas along with a 3-pointer and layup by senior Kai Smith to reduce the margin to 30-29 at halftime.
            For the first 16 minutes of the second half, neither team held a lead of more than four points while exchanging 10 ties and six lead changes. 
            WSC took their first lead of the second half at 40-38 on a Aurrion Harris layup with 13:48 left.
            MSU battled back and took their own four-point lead at 44-40 thanks to an 8-0 run, but Wayne State countered with a 9-1 run over the next 2:30 put the 'Cats back in front 49-45 on a layup from Noll. 
            Wayne State still held a four-point advantage at 60-56 with 4:21 to play following a three-point play from Noll.
            The 'Cats then missed their next nine shots to end the game, allowing Minnesota State to post a 15-0 scoring run to end the contest giving the Mavericks a 71-60 victory.
            Stokes scored a team-high 14 points for Wayne State on 6 of 11 shooting from the field.  Other Wildcats reaching double figures were Darshan Thomas with 11 and Matt Noll had 10.
            WSC was 24 of 64 shooting from the field for 37.5 percent.  The 'Cats were 6 for 18 behind the arc and 6 of 10 at the free throw stripe.
            Will Opsahl poured in a game-high 19 points to lead Minnesota State in scoring.  Caden Kirkman followed with 16 and Traijan Sain added 13.
            Minnesota State made 22 of 50 shots for 44 percent, including 5 of 19 from 3-point range, while connecting on 22 of 29 free throws.
            Wayne State held a slight 38-36 edge in rebounding as Aurrion Harris grabbed a game-high 12 boards for WSC.
            Redshirt freshman guard Eldon Turner had three assists while Harris was credited with three steals.  Noll had two of Wayne State's three blocked shots. 
            The Wildcats continue their NSIC road trip Saturday playing at St. Cloud State in a 2 p.m. contest.