Sioux Falls used 48 percent shooting and a 48-34 advantage in rebounding to defeat Wayne State College Wednesday evening in the first round of the NSIC Men's Basketball Tournament played at the Stewart Center in Sioux Falls.  WSC ends the season at 15-14 overall while the host Cougars advance to the quarterfinals of the NSIC Tournament with a 15-14 record.
            The Wildcats got off to a slow start, trailing 8-0 in the first three minutes, and were later trailing by 10 at 26-16 at the 10:03 mark of the first half.
            WSC able to make four of their next five shots to fuel an 11-0 scoring run and took their first lead of the game at 27-26 on a JJ Ferrin 3-pointer with 7:41 to play in the half.
            The two teams traded baskets and Wayne State's final lead of the game came at 29-28 following an Aurrion Harris tip-in at the 6:38 mark.
            The 'Cats trailed by just three points at 35-32 with 4:12 to play before halftime, but Sioux Falls scored seven unanswered points to grab another double-digit lead at 42-32 and closed the first half with a 42-35 lead.
            Sioux Falls scored the first six points of the second half to take a 48-35 lead.  WSC got within nine on a Matt Noll dunk with 17:17 remaining making the score 48-39.
            The Cougars then used a 12-2 scoring run over the next 2:23 to grab a 19-point lead at 60-41 and led the rest of the night by double digits.
            USF pushed the lead to a game-high 25 at the midway point of the second half – 70-45 with 10:28 to play.  The 'Cats knocked the Cougar advantage to 11 at 81-70 with just under four minutes to play with the game ending in favor of Sioux Falls 94-76.
            Harris led Wayne State in scoring with 22 points to go with 12 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season.  Noll and Darshan Thomas each added 19 points for the Wildcats.
            Wayne State shot 41.7 percent from the field making 30 of 72 shots.  The 'Cats were just 3 of 20 behind the arc and hit 13 of 19 free throws.
            Taylen Ashley scored 30 points to lead Sioux Falls in scoring.  Kyle Ingwerson chipped in 18 with Brogan Madson scoring 16 and Gerard Bosch 12.
            Sioux Falls made 31 of 64 shots for 48.4 percent.  The Cougars were 11 for 26 from the 3-point line and 21 of 31 at the charity stripe.
            The Cougars held a 48-34 advantage in rebounding as Harris had 12 boards for the 'Cats followed by Noll with six.
            Noll and Harris each had three assists while Harris had two steals and Andrew Stokes recorded two blocked shots.
            Wayne State finished with a sixth straight winning season at 15-14 overall.  The game marked the final contest for three Wildcat seniors – Evan Inselman, Kai Smith and Andrew Stokes.