WSC snaps five-game losing skid with big Senior Day win over SMSU
The Wildcats dominated, leading wire to wire over the Mustangs en route to the 30-point win
Wayne State snapped a five-game losing streak in a big way Saturday afternoon as the Wildcats tamed the Mustangs from Southwest Minnesota State 72-42 on Senior Day in NSIC men's basketball played at Rice Auditorium in Wayne. The 'Cats are now 15-13 and 11-11 in the NSIC while SMSU drops to 16-11 and 14-8 in conference play.
Wayne State never trailed in the contest, jumping out to a 12-0 lead while holding the Mustangs without a basket for the first 7:54 of the contest.
After taking a 16-1 lead to start the game, WSC never let the Mustangs get closer than 11 the rest of the contest.
SMSU got within 11 at 21-10 with 8:02 to play in the first half. The 'Cats then got a three-point play from Kai Smith and a basket from Aurrion Harris to go up 17 at 27-10 and closed the first half with a 34-18 lead.
WSC held the Mustangs to just 30 percent shooting (7-23) in the opening half while the 'Cats were 14-31 for 45 percent.
Wayne State did not allow the Mustangs any chance of a comeback in the second half as the 'Cats continued to build on their lead.
The Wildcats used strong shooting (15-27 for 55.6 percent) to deny any Mustang comeback and WSC cruised in the second half and closed with a resounding 72-42 win.
Four players hit double figures for WSC, led by sophomore forward Matt Noll with 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists on 6 of 7 shooting from the field. Kai Smith also scored 13 points followed by Harris with 12 and Darshan Thomas with 11.
Wayne State shot an even 50 percent (29-58) for the game, making 8 of 19 3-pointers and 6-7 free throws.
Mason Lund was the lone double digit scorer for SMSU with 11 points.
The Mustangs made 17 of 47 shots for 36.2 percent and just 2-23 behind the arc while making 6-10 at the line.
WSC held a commanding 37-24 advantage on the glass thanks to nine boards from Noll (five offensive rebounds) and five by Harris. Noll also had seven assists with two steals.
Wayne State now awaits final seedings for the Northern Sun Conference Tournament to be announced Saturday evening with first round games starting Wednesday at sites to be announced.