Wayne State outscored Minot State 56-39 in the second half aided by 65 percent shooting as the Wildcats rallied for the second straight night in the second half to pick up an 85-77 Northern Sun Conference men's basketball win at Minot State Saturday evening.  The Wildcats move to 12-8 and 8-6 in the NSIC South while the host Beavers drop to 8-12 and 5-9 in the NSIC North.
            The victory was similar to the one one night earlier as WSC used a 44-22 second half scoring outburst to rally for a 91-74 win Friday evening at UMary.
            WSC trailed for all but 39 seconds of the opening half, trailing early 7-1 to start the game.  The 'Cats battled back for short-lived leads of 8-7 and 10-9.
            Later in the half with the score tied at 20-20, Minot State rattled off nine straight points to grab a 29-20 lead at the 5:23 mark of the opening half.  Baskets from JJ Ferrin and Matt Noll (3-pointer) got the 'Cats within four at 29-25, but the host Beavers closed the half strong and finished with 55 percent shooting (16-29) to take a 38-29 lead at the break.
            Wayne State came out strong in the second half and just over five minutes into the second half eliminated the deficit and took a 46-45 lead on a Darshan Thomas 3-pointer with 14:31 to play.
            The two teams traded 11 lead changes and six ties the rest of the game until the 'Cats took the lead for good near the four-minute mark in the contest.
            WSC trailed 69-68 with 4:48 remaining, then used baskets by Aurrion Harris and Andrew Stokes along with a three-point play from JJ Ferrin to take the lead for good at 75-69 with 2:08 remaining.
            Stokes made four straight free throws while Harris scored the final six points on a pair of baskets and two free throws to deny the Beavers any comeback attempt and a Wildcat 85-77 win.
            Four Wildcats hit double figures, led by sophomore forward Matt Noll's 18 points.  Stokes scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half while Harris produced 17 points with 11 coming in the second half.  Ferrin also hit double digits with 13.
            Wayne State shot an even 50 percent (29-58) in the game, going 8 for 14 behind the arc and 19 of 23 at the charity stripe.
            Carson Yale and Deuce Benjamin each had 17 points for Minot State.  Isaiah Alexander chipped in 14 with Darik Dissette adding 11.
            Minot State shot slightly better than WSC making 28 of 55 shots for 50.9 percent.  The Beavers were 5 for 14 from the 3-point line and 16 of 17 at the free throw line.
            WSC held a slim 30-28 edge in rebounding with Harris grabbing nine.  Noll had four assists with Ferrin recording a team-high three steals. 
            The Wildcats return home next weekend hosting Minnesota Duluth Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Bemidji State Saturday in a 5:30 p.m. contest in Rice Auditorium.