A season-low 33.3 percent shooting by Wayne State along with 17 turnovers cost the Wildcats in a 65-53 home loss to St. Cloud State Friday evening in Northern Sun Conference men's basketball at Rice Auditorium.  The visiting Huskies move to 17-10 and 13-6 in league play while WSC falls to 15-11 and 9-11 in NSIC games.
            Both teams struggled shooting the ball early in the contest and despite the 'Cats starting the game just 4 of 18 from the field WSC held an 11-10 lead at the under 10 media time out.
            Tied at 14-14 at the 8:40 mark, St. Cloud State built a five-point lead at 21-16, but WSC battled back and thanks to a three-point play by Jay Saunders and a basket from Kai Smith the 'Cats tied the score at 21-21.
            WSC closed the half scoring strong on a pair of JJ Ferrin 3-pointers along with baskets from Cody McCullough and Ryan Blum to give the 'Cats a 31-26 lead at intermission.
            The 'Cats maintained their lead early in the second half and held a 39-32 lead with 14:30 remaining following a Matt Noll layup. 
            The visiting Huskies scored the next seven points to tie the score at 39-39.  The two teams then traded several lead changes and ties until a St. Cloud State scoring run late put the game out of reach.
            Wayne State's final lead came at 45-44 on a pair of Saunders free throws with just over 10 minutes to play.
            The final tie of the game was at 48-48 with 8:11 to play, then the Huskies scored seven straight points to take the lead for good.  WSC never got closer than five points as St. Cloud State held the 'Cats to just five baskets in the second half on 25 percent shooting and outscored WSC 39-22 to close with the 65-53 victory.
            Ferrin had 16 points for Wayne State followed by Saunders with 13. 
            Wayne State shot a season-low 33.3 percent from the field making just 17 of 51 shots.  The 'Cats were 5 for 18 from 3-point range and 14 of 21 at the charity stripe.
            Lucas Morgan poured in 15 points for St. Cloud State followed by Luke Winkel with 13.  Lee Marks III and Nate Dahl also hit double digits with 12 and 11 points respectively.
            SCSU shot 37.7 percent making 20 of 53 shots.  The Huskies were 5 of 26 behind the arc and 20 for 27 at the free throw line.
            St. Cloud State held a 43-32 edge in rebounding as McCullough grabbed eight rebounds for the 'Cats. 
            Saunders was credited with four steals in the contest, moving him into second place on the all-time steals list at WSC with 168 to move past Vance Janssen's 165 steals from 2015-19. 
            The Wildcats will be at home again Saturday hosting Bemidji State on Senior Day with tip off set for 3:30 p.m. in Rice Auditorium.