WAYNE, Neb. – The Southwest Minnesota State men's basketball team (5-2 overall, 1-1 NSIC) would miss a three-pointer as time expired to fall 68-65 on the road against Wayne State (5-3, 2-0) in NSIC action Thursday night at the Rice Auditorium in Wayne, Neb. 

 Wayne State shot 42.9 percent from the field while out-scoring SMSU in the paint 24-16 to pick up a narrow victory. The Wildcats would be led by Justin Eagins, who scored 21 points on 6-10 shooting, including 5-8 from deep, and Justin Janssen, who recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
 
SMSU had four players reach double figures in scoring, with Grant Kramer leading the charge with 15 points on 5-9 shooting from three-point range. Kenny Byers would pick up 12 points, three assists, and three steals, while Sam Schwartz would score 11 points of the bench, including 10 in the second half.  Dunwa Omot would also contribute to the offense with 11 bench points of his own. 
 
The Mustangs bench would outscore the Wildcats bench 30-13, but would be outscored 23-17 off of turnovers.  

The Wildcats would strike first, leading 9-2 into the first media timeout. SMSU would shoot 16 percent (1 of 6) out of the gate with WSC connecting on 40 percent (4 of 10). Anthony Costello would catch fire, scoring eight points during a 13-0 run in less than four minutes to race to a 15-9 lead.  
 
WSC would respond with a 14-3 run while shooting 75 percent (3-of-4) from three-point range to march in front 23-18 with 7:49 left in the half. With the Wildcats leading 26-22 with just over five minutes to go in the first half, Omot would deliver, hitting a pair of threes to give SMSU a 28-26 lead with 4:30 to go. 
 
SMSU and WSC would each trade a bucket, with the Wildcats adding a free throw to give SMSU a 30-29 halftime lead. 
 
SMSU shot 44 percent (11 of 25) from the field, including 7 of 11 from three-point range in the first 20 minutes.
 
Cliff McCray would open the second half scoring by drilling a three ball just over a minute into the half and stretch the lead to 33-29. With the Wildcats making a run, Byers would start to find the bottom of the net, scoring six of eight SMSU points with WSC cutting the lead to 41-39 with 12:43 to go in the game. 
 
WSC would score the next 10 points to jump ahead 49-41 with 8:31 to go in the game. Kramer would hit a three-pointer to end the run, but WSC would respond with four more points to run the lead up to 53-44. 
 
Schwartz would nail a three-pointer before jumping a pass and taking it in for a layup to narrow the WSC lead to 53-49 with 5:42 to go. He would then go to the line and make a pair of free throws to cap his own 7-0 run and get the Mustangs within two points at 53-51. 
 
WSC answered with a three-point play out of the final media timeout before forcing a turnover and hitting a pair of free-throws to grow the lead to 58-51. Kramer would hit third three of the night to cut into the lead, but WSC would respond with a mid-range jumper to take two back and lead 60-54 with 2:44 to play. 
 
SMSU would continue to hit from deep and keep them in the game, but WSC would convert at the free throw line to slow down SMSU. Down 65-60 with 1:13 left, Byers would connect on a jumper to cut into the lead, and following a free-throw, Kramer would make another three to trail 66-65 with 47 seconds to go. 
 
The Mustangs couldn't make it over the hump, missing a jumper before giving up a layup to trail 68-65 with 21 seconds left. Byers would miss a three-pointer as time expired. 

Southwest Minnesota State returns home Saturday, hosting Augustana (7-1, 1-1) at 3:30 p.m. in the R/A facility.