Thanks to career-high performances from freshman forward Matt Noll and senior guard Jay Saunders, Wayne State nearly rallied from an 18-point deficit with 12:37 to play before falling just short in an 84-80 loss at Minot State Saturday afternoon in Northern Sun Conference men's basketball played at the Minot Dome.  Host Minot State is now 23-8 and 14-8 in the league while WSC slips to 16-12 and 10-12 in league play.
            The host Beavers jumped out to a quick lead, 18-6 just 6:30 into the contest. 
            Wayne State responded and closed within six at 19-13 following a 3-pointer by Noll.
            After Minot State pushed the advantage back to 12 (27-15), the 'Cats got within six again following a pair of Jay Saunders free throws at 30-24 with 5:34 to go in the half.
            But Minot State closed the half strong, thanks to senior Jaxon Gunville going 6 of 9 from the 3-point line in the first half, as the host Beavers took a 45-31 lead at intermission.
            The Beavers continued their double-digit advantage for much of the second half, but hot shooting Wayne State rallied and used 64 percent shooting in the second half (20-31) to get as close as two before the Beavers held off Wayne State's rally for the four-point win.
            Minot State took their biggest lead of the game at 63-45 with 12:37 remaining and was still ahead by 12 (70-58) with 8:10 to play when the Wildcats rallied.
            A Kai Smith fast break layup with 2:39 remaining got WSC within two at 76-74 and a layup from Saunders tied the score at 76-76 with 2:26 to play.
            But Minot State got a 3-pointer and pair of free throws to go back in front by five with 21 seconds left.  The Beavers sealed the win with three free throws in the final 10 seconds to hold off the Wildcats 84-80.
            Noll led all scorers with a career-high 32 points, going 11 of 16 from the field and 6 of 7 at the charity stripe.  Saunders also added a career-high with 25 points making 11 of 14 shots from the field and all three free throws. 
            Wayne State shot 57.1 percent from the field in the loss, making 32 of 56 shots.  The 'Cats were 6 for 20 from the 3-point line and 10 of 13 at the free throw stripe.
            Senior Jaxon Gunville poured in 31 points to lead Minot State, going 10 of 17 from the 3-point line.  Caleb Van De Griend added 19 points followed by Ayouba Berthe with 15 and Jalen Cook 14.
            Minot State was 26 of 60 from the field for 43.3 percent.  The Beavers were 14 of 35 from 3-point range and 18 for 23 at the free throw line.
            The host Beavers held a sizeable 38-24 edge in rebounding over the Wildcats with Cody McCullough, Saunders and JJ Ferrin each grabbing five boards for WSC.  Saunders matched a career-high with six steals for WSC while senior Sean Stokes handed out three assists.
            The Wildcats are guaranteed the #10 seed for the upcoming NSIC Men's Basketball Tournament with an opponent to be determined Saturday evening with Wayne State facing the #7 seed on the road in the first round of the tournament Wednesday evening.