St. Cloud State led from start to finish, using nearly 56 percent shooting (29-52) to handle Wayne State College 90-68 Friday evening in Northern Sun Conference mens basketball played at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud, Minnesota. The Huskies improved to 13-10 and 10-7 in the league while Wayne State saw their four-game win streak snapped dropping to 10-16 and 7-10 in the NSIC South Division.
The Cats got off to a slow start, trailing 9-2 3:30 into the contest.
Wayne State got within two at 12-10 following a pair of Nate Mohr free throws with 12:51 to play in the half, but the Huskies scored nine unanswered points to take a 21-10 advantage over the Wildcats with 9:53 left in the half.
The Wildcats battled back and closed within four at 23-19 following a Jordan Janssen basket.
However, SCSU went on a 21-4 scoring surge over the final 5:17 of the half and took control of the game with a commanding 44-23 lead at halftime as the Huskies closed the opening half making 15 of 24 shots for 62.5 percent.
The host Huskies continued their strong shooting in the second half and maintained a sizeable double digit advantage the remainder of the game and closed with a 90-68 victory.
Sophomore center Jordan Janssen led Wayne State in scoring with 16 points, his 35th consecutive game scoring double figures. AlTavius Jackson followed with 13 points while Nick Ferrarini and Nate Mohr also reached double digits with 11 and 10 points.
Wayne State made 29 of 62 shots in the game for 46.8 percent. The Cats were 7-17 from 3-point range and made 3 of 4 free throws.
Trevon Marshall scored a game-high 32 points for St. Cloud State with Anthony Roberts adding 26.
The Huskies shot 55.8 percent from the field making 29 of 52 shots. SCSU was 10-21 behind the arc and was 22-28 at the foul line.
St. Cloud State held a 36-24 edge in rebounds over WSC with Ben Dentlinger hauling in six boards for the Cats.
Mohr and Jackson each recorded four assists for the Wildcats in the loss.
Wayne State will visit Minnesota Duluth Saturday afternoon for a 5:30 p.m. contest.
Juniors Erin Norling and Halley Busse each recorded 20-point games to lead the Wayne State College womens basketball team to a convincing 79-58 Northern Sun Conference womens basketball road win Friday evening at St. Cloud State that snapped the Huskies 10-game win streak. WSC is now 16-7 overall and 11-6 in the NSIC South Division while the Huskies drop to 16-5 and 13-4 in the NSIC North Division.
St. Cloud State opened the game with a 3-pointer, then Wayne State held the Huskies scoreless over the next 5:31 while going on a 15-3 run to grab a 15-3 lead.
WSC ended the opening stanza making 10 of 15 shots (66.7%) and grabbed a 21-10 lead.
The Wildcats maintained a double digit lead in the second quarter, holding the Huskies scoreless for another stretch of 5:12, and built a 37-20 lead at intermission.
Wayne State continued the pressure on the Huskies in the third quarter, starting the second half with a 13-3 run, to take a 50-23 lead with 5:32 to play in the third quarter before closing the quarter with a commanding 58-38 advantage.
The host Huskies trimmed the Wildcat lead to 12 at 66-54 with 5:58 left in the game, but WSC used a 3-pointer from Norling and five straight points from Josey Ryan on a basket and 3-pointer to push the lead back to 18 (74-56) and Wayne State finished with the convincing 79-58 win to stop the hottest team in the NSIC snapping St. Cloud States 10-game win streak.
Norling led Wayne State in scoring with 23 points on 10 of 20 shooting. It was her 11th 20-point game of the season. Busse followed with 20 points on 7 of 12 shooting including 4 for 8 behind the arc, notching her fourth 20-point contest of the season. Sophomore reserve guard Kylie Hammer also hit double figures with 10 points.
Wayne State shot very well making 32 of 62 shots for 51.6 percent, just the third time under Head Coach Brent Pollari (53 games) that the Wildcats shot better than 50 percent from the field. The Cats were 8 for 22 from the 3-point line and 7 of 9 at the free throw line.
Tori Wortz paced St. Cloud State in scoring with 15 points while Nikki Kilboten and Madelin Dammann each added 14 points.
SCSU shot just 31.7 percent from the floor on 20 of 63, including 8 for 27 behind the arc. The Huskies were 10-14 at the foul stripe.
Wayne State won the rebounding battle over the Huskies 43-35 thanks to eight boards from Norling and six each by Awoti Akoi and Brittany Bongartz.
WSC held a commanding 44-20 edge on points in the paint and 11-6 in points off turnovers.
Busse handed out five assists for the Wildcats and had three steals.
Wayne State will be in action again Saturday afternoon visiting Minnesota Duluth in a 3:30 p.m. contest.
