Wayne State College men's basketball began their season with a weekend split during the Missouri Western Classic.
From St. Joseph, MO, the Wildcat men started at 1-1 with an 80-76 victory over Emporira State on Nov. 14 followed by an 88-67 loss against Missouri Western on Nov. 15.
During the victory over Emporira State, the Hornets held a 45-44 lead at the break followed by WSC winning the second half, 36-31 to win the game, 80-76. There were 12 ties and 15 lead changes.
Double figure leaders were led by sophomore Matt Noll (7-14 FG/1-1 3PT/4-4 FT) with 19 points, seven rebounds and a steal; senior transfer (Crookston) Andrew Stokes (6-9 FG/0-1 3PT/3-3 FT) added 15 points and six rebounds; junior JJ Ferrin (5-12 FG/2-6 3PT/2-2 FT) followed with 14 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal as redshirt freshman Darshan Thomas (5-6 FG/1-2 3PT/0-1 FT) tallied 11 points.
All nine Wildcats who saw action also scored including senior Kai Smith (four boards, two assists, one steal) with eight points; redshirt junior transfer (CSU Pueblo) Aurrion Harris (four boards, one assist) and junior Wade Voss (four boards, two assists) both scored four points; freshman Ben Kerkhoff tacked on three points as redshirt freshman Eldon Turner (one board, two assists) closed with two points.
WSC shot 31-59 from the field (52.5%), 7-16 behind the three-point line (43.8%) and 11-14 from the charity stripe (78.6%).
The Wildcats outrebounded Emporira State, 29-27 including 8-7 on the offensive glass which led to eight second chance points compared to 17 points for the Hornets. WSC scored eight points off of 12 turnovers while the Hornets scored 14 points off of 10 Wildcat turnovers. WSC won the battle in the paint (32-16) and bench points (20-18) as both teams scored nine fast break points.
In the loss to Missouri Western, the Griffons jumped out to a 42-34 first half lead. Missouri Western didn't let up in the second half, 46-33 to win 88-67. There were four ties and nine lead changes.
Noll (7-15 FG/2-2 3PT/3-4 FT) posted a team-high 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal while Smith (4-6 FG/2-3 3PT/1-1 FT) followed with 11 points.
Other scoring came from Voss (six boards, two assists, one block) with nine points; Kerkhoff (one board, one steal) added eight points; Stokes (six boards, three assists, two steals) tallied six points; Thomas (one assist) tacked on five points; Ferrin (one board, one steal) and Harris (five boards) both scored four points as Turner (two boards, three assists, one steal) closed with one point.
WSC shot 25-63 from the field (39.7%), 6-18 behind the three-point line (33.3%) and 11-20 from the charity stripe (55%).
The Wildcats were outrebounded, 41-34 including 27-21 on the offensive glass which led to 14 second chance points for the Griffons compared to 19 points for the Wildcats. WSC scored 13 points off of 12 turnovers while Missouri Western scored 17 points off of 15 Wildcat turnovers. Missouri Western won the battle in the paint (42-36) and bench points (26-23) while both teams scored seven fast break points.
The Wayne State College men's basketball team will next host Manhattan Christian (KS) on Nov. 17 at 6 p.m.
