The Wayne State men’s and women’s basketball teams rebounded from losses Saturday with wins against Concordia-St. Paul Sunday afternoon at Rice Auditorium.
In the men’s matchup, Kendall Jacks paced four Wildcat players in double figures with 21 points as the Wildcats used a late scoring surge to finish off pesky Concordia-St. Paul 77-68 and improve to 15-4 overall and 10-4 in NSIC play.
An entertaining first half saw the two teams exchange three ties and 11 lead changes. The third and final tie of the first half came at 21-21 on a Vance Janssen free throw with 7:10 to play in the half.
A Jacks jumper with 1:36 to go before halftime gave the Wildcats their biggest lead of the first half at 36-29, but Concordia-St. Paul closed the half with a pair of baskets to cut the lead to 36-33 at intermission.
The Golden Bears stayed close with Wayne State for most of the second half, taking their final lead at 49-47 on a pair of Bryndan Matthews free throws with 11:44 to play.
The Wildcats took the lead for good by scoring the next seven points, highlighted by a dunk from sophomore Ben Dentlinger. The Golden Bears \got as close as two at 54-52 on a Lee Higgins 3-pointer with 8:47 to play, but Wayne State went on a 12-4 scoring run and took their first double-digit lead at 66-56 on a pair of Nick Ferrarini free throws at the 4:56 mark and they were able to go on and post the victory.
Jordan Janssen followed Jacks in the scoring department, recording his sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Trevin Joseph and Vance Janssen also hit double digits with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
In women’s action, Wayne State held Concordia-St. Paul to just 25 percent shooting as the Wildcats shut down the NSIC South Division-leading Golden Bears 71-49.
The Wildcats (13-7, 8-6) never trailed in the contest, taking a 16-5 lead in the first 5:15 of the contest. Wayne State maintained a double digit lead in the first quarter and held a 20-9 lead after 10 minutes of play.
The Golden Bears scored the first six points of the second stanza to get within five at 20-15, but the Wildcats responded with their own 7-0 run and pushed the lead to 27-15 followed a Halley Busse jumper at the 6:15 mark. The Wildcats sustained a double-digit lead the rest of the quarter and ended the half with a 37-26 lead.
The Wildcat defense never allowed Concordia-St. Paul a chance to get back into the game in the second half, limiting the Golden Bears to 21 percent shooting (8-of-38) in the half. The Golden Bears were within nine at 43-34 late third quarter, but Wayne State closed the quarter on a 8-2 run to push the lead back to 15 and come away with the 22-point blowout win.
Erin Norling and Halley Busse each scored 18 points to pace Wayne State.
Wayne State held a 48-45 edge in rebounding over the Golden Bears, thanks to a career-high 14 rebounds from Andrea Larson. Busse had four of Wayne State’s 11 assists and three of the team’s six steals.
The Wildcats will be on the road next weekend, visiting the University of Mary Friday night at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. and Minot State Saturday for games at 3:30 and 5:30 p.m.
