Box Score

MARSHALL, Minn. – Wayne State opened a tight game with a big 19-3 run early in the second half to go on and earn a 74-56 victory over Southwest Minnesota State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball on Saturday afternoon at the R/A Facility.
 
WSC, which improves to 9-5 overall, 9-3 NSIC South, held a 40-39 advantage with 17 minute and 40 seconds left in the game, before using the run to seal the win. WSC made 9 of 16 field goals during the stretch and limited SMSU to 1 of 12 shooting, in pushing the lead to 59-42 with 9:15 remaining.
 
Jordan Janssen led the Wildcats in the win with 14 points and 13 rebounds. WSC shot 53 percent (30 of 57) from the field with seven 3-pointers and held a 36-29 rebound advantage.
 
Sam Schwartz led the Mustangs (2-7, 0-5 NSIC South) with a career-high 13 points on 6 of 10 from the field. Grant Kramer was the only other SMSU player to reach double figure scoring with 11 points while connecting on three 3-pointers. Nick Dufault and Kaden Evans both added nine points for the Mustangs.
 
SMSU finished the game shooting 38 percent (21 of 56) from the field, while making 9 of 22 from 3-point range.
 
For the second straight game, WSC used a quick start to build an 18-6 lead in the opening eight minutes. WSC would later extend the margin to 26-12 with 7:44 remaining before SMSU answered with a big run to pull back into the game.
 
A 3-pointer from Evans sparked a 12-2 run over a three-minute stretch to cut the deficit to 28-24 at the 3:52 mark. Evans scored nine of the points during the run with a pair of 3-pointers.
 
The Mustangs would cut the deficit to three points on two occasions later in the half before the Wildcats' Justin Eagins hit a jumper just before the buzzer to make the score 40-35 at halftime.
 
WSC shot 58 percent in the first half with three 3-pointers, while SMSU shot 43 percent and drilled 7 of 12 from long-range.
 
Dufault opened the second half with a 3-pointer, while Cliff McCray made one of two free throws to cut the deficit to 40-39, but Janssen started the game-deciding run with a jumper at the 17:33 mark and the Wildcats never looked back. SMSU was held scoreless for five minutes as WSC would build a 51-38 margin before Kramer knocked down a 3-pointer at the 12:49 mark. WSC countered with eight straight points to push the score to 59-42.
 
McCray and Jake Phipps led SMSU with five rebounds each, while McCray dished out a game-high seven assists and had four steals.
 
Southwest Minnesota State will conclude the season next Friday and Saturday hosting the University of Sioux Falls with Friday's game set for 6 p.m. with Saturday's match-up set to begin at 2 p.m.