Wayne State used 59 percent shooting in the first half to build a big lead while senior guard Jay Saunders poured in a career-high 20 points to power the Wildcats in a 78-73 Northern Sun Conference men's basketball victory over Bemidji State Saturday afternoon at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  The Wildcats move to 16-11 and 10-11 in the league while Bemidji State drops to 10-16 and 7-13 in the NSIC.
            After shooting a season-low 33 percent the night before vs. St. Cloud State, the Wildcats came out on fire Saturday afternoon.  Trailing 10-7 early in the game, WSC scored the next 11 points and took an 18-10 lead following a Sean Stokes 3-pointer. 
            A JJ Ferrin 3-pointer at the 10:00 mark gave the 'Cats their first double-digit lead at 23-12.  With the 'Cats later leading 27-18, WSC used back-to-back treys from Saunders and another by Kai Smith to grab a 36-18 advantage with 5:33 to play before half.
            The 'Cats closed the hot shooting first half with 3-pointers from Ferrin and Stokes putting WSC ahead 51-24 thanks to 10 of 18 shooting behind the arc in the opening half and 19 of 32 overall for 59.4 percent.
            Wayne State was on cruise control much of the second half, maintaining a double-digit advantage until the final minute.
            A pair of Jay Saunders free throws with two minutes to play had Wayne State in front 77-62.
            Bemidji State shot 66 percent in the second half and trimmed the Wildcat lead to single digits in the final minute as the final score ended Wayne State winning 78-73.
            Saunders scored 17 of his career-high 20 points in the first half to lead Wayne State, going 7 of 11 from the field.  Senior forward Cody McCullough and sophomore guard JJ Ferrin each had 13 points with Stokes adding 11.
            Wayne State finished the game making 27 of 55 shots for 49 percent, including 13 for 31 from the 3-point line.  The 'Cats were 11 of 19 at the line.
            John Pecarich scored a game-high 28 points for Bemidji State followed by Tate Olson with 17 and Daxton Dayley 15.
            The Beavers made 25 of 52 shots for 48 percent, going 11 for 26 from the 3-point line.  BSU was 12 of 18 at the charity stripe.
            Bemidji State held a 33-29 edge in rebounding over the Wildcats.  McCullough grabbed eight boards for WSC.  Ferrin handed out five assists while Noah Erickson recorded two of Wayne State's three blocks. 
            The Wildcats close the regular season on the road next Saturday afternoon at Minot State in a 1:30 p.m. contest.