Both the Wayne State men’s and women’s basketball teams lost heartbreaking finishes Saturday in Northern Sun Conference action at University of Sioux Falls.
In the first game of the day, the Wayne State men let a 14-point lead get away in the final minutes of the second half, allowing USF to steal an 81-79 win over the Wildcats.
The Wildcats led for most of the first half, jumping out to a 14-6 lead early in the game. Wayne State led 32-24 with 3:44 to go in the first half on a Justin Eagins layup, part of a 10-point run by Eagin, who scored 18 in the first half to help Wayne State to a 42-37 lead at intermission.
The Wildcats built a 14-point advantage early in the second half, thanks to a 12-3 run that concluded with two Alec Millender charity tosses with 15:24 to go to make it 54-40.
The Cougars quickly changed the momentum of the game, however, using a 10-0 run in three minutes to cut the deficit to 54-50.
Sioux Falls took its first lead at 68-66 with a layup by Matt Cartwright with 6:17 to go, but Wayne State came back and took their final lead at 72-71 on an Eagins layup with 3:47 left.
The game was tied at 79-79 in the final minute when the Cougars got a basket from Cartwright with 6.2 seconds left to break the deadlock. Millender’s 3-point shot as time expired was blocked, giving the hosts the two-point win.
Eagins finished with a team-high 28 points and Jordan Janssen added 23 for the Wildcats (5-4, 2-1 NSIC), who shot 54.4 percent from the field for the game. Cartwright led all scorers with 32 points for the Cougars.
In the nightcap, USF overcame a career-high 31-point performance by Wayne native Kylie Hammer to hold on and edge the Wildcats, 76-75, handing the WSC women their first conference loss of the season.
The game was plagued by fouls, with 52 called during the contest.
Wayne State shot the ball well early on, hitting four 3-pointers to take a 22-17 lead after one quarter.
USF responded with a 7-of-14 effort from the floor in the second period, outscoring WSC 20-13 to take a 37-35 halftime advantage.
The two teams traded leads for much of the third quarter, with Wayne State taking a 44-43 advantage on a Kassidy Pingel basket. USF responded with a 7-0 run to lead 50-44 and never trailed again.
USF led by as many as seven early in the fourth, but Wayne State regained the lead after a basket by Lauren Zacharias, a Trey from Logan Hughes and two Hammer free throws, followed by a Maya Fitzpatrick free throw made it 67-66 with 4:54 to go.
Hughes’ basket with 2:49 left tied the game at 70-70. USF scored four points to take the lead for good, but a Hammer three-point play made it 74-73 with :40 left.
Hammer made a layup with 3.8 seconds left to account for the final points of the game, as USF was able to run out the clock to secure the win.
Hammer scored a career-high 31 points, hitting 10-of-13 from the floor in the contest for the Wildcats (5-2, 2-1 NSIC). Hughes added 16 points and Pingel scored 12. Megan Fanin led four USF players in double figures with 20 points.
The two teams are back home this weekend for a pair of doubleheaders. They face Concordia-St. Paul on Friday and Minnesota State on Saturday. Games start at 5:30 p.m. on Friday and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, with the men’s game followed by the women’s game.
