Wayne State used 53 percent shooting overall and 55 percent from 3-point range to hold off Augustana for a 76-73 NSIC South Division men's basketball road victory Saturday afternoon at the Elmen Center in Sioux Falls.  The Wildcats have won four of their last six road games at Augustana dating back to early 2021 and improve to 8-6 on the season and 4-4 in the league while dropping Augustana from a first-place tie in the NSIC at 6-2 in conference play and 8-5 on the season.
            The 'Cats held an early 8-7 lead in the contest but Augustana reeled off nine straight points, holding WSC scoreless for nearly 2:30, to take a 16-8 advantage. 
            Wayne State still trailed by eight points at 38-30 with 4:35 to play in the half when the 'Cats scored nine straight points to take a 39-38 lead thanks to an Eldon Turner layup, JJ Ferrin 3-pointer and a basket and pair of free throws from Andrew Stokes with 1:38 to play before halftime.
            Augustana regained the lead before intermission and WSC cut the Viking lead to 43-42 on a Matt Noll 3-pointer right before the first half horn.
            The two teams exchanged seven leads and a pair of ties in the first part of the second half until a Wildcat scoring run at the midway point gave WSC the lead for good.
            The Vikings opened the second half and took a 48-44 lead three minutes into the half.  A 7-0 Wildcat run fueled by a Ferrin 3-pointer and pull-up jumper gave WSC a 51-48 edge at the 15:17 mark.
            Later in the half with Augustana leading 56-55 with 11:12 remaining, Wayne State scored 10 straight points to take the lead for good at 65-56.  Ferrin and Kai Smith hit drained 3-pointers while Noll and Smith each added baskets.
            Then, WSC went cold from the field for just under four minutes and did not score, but the Vikings could not take advantage and only produced six points in that span to cut the WSC advantage to four. 
            A basket by Noll put the 'Cats back up five at 67-62 with 3:34 to play.  Augustana tried to answer, but each time WSC countered and got the lead back to five points until a driving layup from Tameron Ferguson cut the Wildcat lead to 72-70 with 11 second remaining. 
            Noll was fouled on the inbounds and made two charity tosses for a four-point edge – 74-70 – and Aurrion Harris sealed the win with two seconds to play making two more free throws for a 76-70 lead.  Augustana made a 3-pointer as the horn sounded for the final margin of 76-73.
            Ferrin led Wayne State in scoring with 19 points on 7 of 11 shooting from the field including 5 of 8 behind the arc.  Noll contributed 16 points on 6 of 8 shooting while Harris also hit double figures with 12 thanks to 6 of 6 at the stripe.
            WSC shot 26 of 49 from the field for 53.1 percent, including a solid 10 for 18 from the 3-point line for 55 percent.  The 'Cats were also 14 of 18 (77.8%) at the free throw line.
            For Augustana, Ferguson and Sam Rensch each poured in 22 points with Tanner Te Slaa scoring 14.
            The Vikings were 27 of 64 from the field for 42.2 percent, but connected on just 12 of 35 shots (34%) in the second half. 
            Augustana held a 36-25 edge in rebounding, but WSC had a 17-7 advantage in points off turnovers. 
            Andrew Stokes led WSC on the glass with seven rebounds.  Noll recorded a team-high three assists while Harris had two steals. 
The Wildcats return home to Rice Auditorium next weekend hosting Northern State Friday at 5:30 p.m. and the University of Jamestown Saturday in a 3:30 p.m. contest.