Northern State sophomore forward Parker Fox posted a triple-double with 24 points, 15 rebounds and 10 blocked shots to lead the Wolves in a 82-72 Northern Sun Conference mens basketball win Saturday evening over Wayne State College at Rice Auditorium in Wayne. WSC falls to 6-15 and 3-9 in the NSIC while NSU is now 14-4 and 10-2 in league games.
The visiting Wolves used an efficient attack to build a 20-10 lead on the Wildcats 7:30 into the contest.
A Henry Penner 3-pointer got WSC within eight at 34-26 with 3:26 left in the half, but Northern State closed the half strong and finished with their biggest lead of the half at intermission holding a comfortable 44-28 lead.
Northern State maintained a sizeable double digit advantage for much of the second half.
With NSU leading 66-50 at the 7:28 mark, WSC closed the deficit to eight at 66-58 following a layup from Penner with 4:25 to play but thats as close as the Wildcats would get in suffering the 82-72 loss.
Penner poured in a career-high 17 points for Wayne State, going 6-10 from the field and 5 for 7 from the 3-point line. AlTavius Jackson added 16 points on 8-14 shooting while Jordan Janssen continued his streak of double digit scoring this season with 12 points along with 10 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the year.
Wayne State was 27-68 shooting for 39.7 percent, going 6-15 from the 3-point line, and 12 of 16 at the free throw line.
Fox was the story of the game for Northern State with his triple-double of 24 points, 15 rebounds and 10 blocks. Mason Stark scored 19 points followed by Tommy Chatman with 11 and Andrew Kallman and Cole Dahl 10 each.
Northern State made 29 of 61 shots for 47.5 percent, including 10-24 from the 3-point line. The Wolves struggled from the free throw line connecting on just 14 of 26 attempts for 53.8 percent.
The Wolves held a 47-38 advantage in rebounding over the Wildcats with Janssens 10 caroms leading WSC.
Janssen, Nick Ferrarini and Nate Mohr each had three assists while Janssen notched two blocks.
WSC will be on the road next weekend, playing NSIC South Division games at Minnesota State Friday night at 7:30 p.m. and Concordia-St. Paul Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
Wayne State junior point guard Halley Busse scored a season-high 25 points on 8 of 12 shooting to power the Wildcats past Northern State 79-67 in a Northern Sun Conference womens basketball contest played Saturday afternoon at Rice Auditorium in Wayne. With the win, WSC improves to 13-5 and 8-4 in the NSIC South while Northern State drops to 11-7 and 7-5 in the NSIC North Division.
After Northern State opened with the first four points of the game, WSC used a 13-2 run to take the lead for good the rest of the first half.
A Kylie Hammer fast-break layup gave WSC a 13-6 lead at the 4:55 mark and the Wildcats closed the first quarter with an 18-14 lead.
WSC increased the lead to 11 at 30-19 following a Haley Vesey 3-pointer with 3:35 to play in the half.
NSU got within five at 30-25 before the Wildcats ended the half with a 35-28 lead.
The Wolves came out hot in the third quarter and used a 11-0 run to turn a 40-33 Wayne State lead into a Northern State advantage of 44-40 with 5:09 left in the quarter.
Wayne State responded and scored the final seven points of the quarter to grab a 58-50 lead over the Wolves.
The Wildcats ended any possible comeback by Northern State in the fourth quarter as WSC went 10-12 from the line to finish the second half 19-22 at the stripe as WSC capped a weekend sweep with a 79-67 win over Northern State.
Busse paced Wayne State with her season-best effort of 25 points, going 8 of 12 from the field, 4 for 6 behind the arc and 5-6 at the charity stripe. Junior forward Erin Norling added 18 points, her 36th consecutive game of double figure scoring. Junior center Brittany Bongartz also hit double digits with 10 points.
Wayne State made 24-55 shots for 43.6 percent, including 8 of 17 from the 3-point line for a season-high 47.1 percent. The Wildcats also shot well from the foul line connecting on 23 of 26 for 88.5 percent, another season-high.
For Northern State, Lexi Wadsworth poured in a game-high 30 points to lead the Wolves as the lone double digit scorer.
NSU was 21 of 65 from the field for 32.3 percent and hit on just 8 of 34 3-point shots. The Wolves made 17 of 24 free throws
WSC won the rebounding battle 45-36 with Bongartz grabbing nine boards to lead the Cats. Norling and Josey Ryan added eight rebounds apiece.
Norling and Kylie Hammer were each credited with four assists in the win.
The Wildcats will be on the road next weekend for NSIC South Division games at Minnesota State Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Concordia-St. Paul Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. contest.
