The Wayne State men’s and women’s basketball teams struggled on the road Saturday, with both teams coming up short in matchups at Minnesota Crookston.
In women’s action, Wayne State made just 3-of-14 shots in the fourth quarter as Minnesota Crookston rallied for a 66-65 win.
The Wildcats (7-3, 3-2 NSIC) started strong against the Golden Eagles, making 10-of-15 shots in the opening quarter to build a 22-17 lead. Three-pointers by Kylie Hammer and Halley Busse, followed by a pair of baskets from Erin Norling, staked the Wildcats to the early advantage.]
The Wildcats then went ice cold from the field in the second quarter, going just 4-of-19 as Minnesota Crookston outscored WSC 18-11 to rally for a 35-33 lead at intermission.
Wayne State found their shot again in the third quarter, going 6-of-11 from the field, as Norling and Busse combined to score 14 of the Wildcats’ 19 points in the quarter to give Wayne State a 52-49 advantage going into the final period.
The streaky up and down shooting for the Wildcats continued in the fourth quarter as Wayne State could not make key baskets late. Crookston built a 62-55 advantage before Wayne State rallied with a 10-point run to lead 65-62 with 1:55 to go.
Crookston rallied and held off Wayne State at the end to come away with the win.
Norling led Wayne State with a game-high 30 points on 12-of-23 shooting for the Wildcats. Busse also reached double figures with 13.
Wayne State held a 44-41 edge in rebounding over Crookston, with Norling grabbing eight boards to lead the Wildcats.
In the men’s game, Minnesota Crookston senior Harrison Cleary scored 35 of his game-high 52 points in the second half as the hosts pulled away for a 92-78 win.
The Wildcats (5-8, 2-3 NSIC) took early leads of 10-4 and 12-7 on UMC, but the Golden Eagles stormed back and tied the score at 17-17.
Crookston pushed the lead to seven at 35-28, but Wayne State tied the score at 35-35 right before halftime until the host Golden Eagles sank a pair of free throws with four seconds to play in the half to take a 37-35 lead at intermission.
Wayne State scored the first eight points of the second half and took a 43-37 lead on a Nick Ferrarini 3-pointer with 18:45 to play.
But the second half belonged to Cleary and the Golden Eagles.
Crookston built the lead to 10 at 63-53 with 11:23 to play. Wayne State got as close as four at 65-61, but Cleary took the game over and the Golden Eagles pulled away, making 8-of-14 3-pointers in the second half and 17-of-21 free throws.
Al’Tavius Jackson paced Wayne State in scoring with 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Other Wildcats in double figures were Nate Mohr (16), Jordan Janssen (13) and Ben Dentlinger (11).
Dentlinger and Janssen each grabbed seven rebounds for the Wildcats. Janssen handed out six assists and had two steals.
Both teams will make up weather-delayed matchups on Wednesday. The women play host to Mount Marty at 6 p.m. at Rice Auditorium, while the Wildcat men head to Kearney to take on UNK at 6 p.m. at Kearney High School.
