The Wayne State men’s basketball team earned a pair of home wins over the weekend to improve to 5-0 on the young season.
On Friday, junior forward Trey Deveaux scored 18 of his game-high 20 points in the first half and finished with a double-double, posting 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead Wayne State in an 89-54 non-conference win over Simpson College.
The Wildcats never trailed in the game. With the score tied at 5-5, WSC went on a 12-2 run and took a 17-7 lead at the 13:48 mark following a David Harmon layup.
WSC continued to build on their advantage and a Harmon fast break dunk with 5:18 to play in the half put the Wildcats in front 37-17 before closing the opening half with a commanding 54-20 lead.
The second half saw the Wildcats maintain a lead of more than 30 points most of the half and 14 different Wildcats saw action with 10 players scoring.
Wayne State ended the game making 36-of-74 shots for 48.6 percent. The Wildcats were 12-for-30 behind the arc and 5-of-8 at the free throw line.
Deveaux’s double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds led Wayne State followed by Harmon with 18 points.
WSC held a 49-32 edge in rebounding thanks to 10 boards from Deveaux and eight by Cody McCullough. Jay Saunders had a team-high four assists while McCullough and Harmon each had two steals.
On Saturday, Wayne State saw 12 players score with three in double figures en route to an 86-47 win over Manhattan Christian College.
The game featured six lead changes in the first 3 1/2 minutes until the Wildcats caught fire and took a double-digit lead. MCC held a 7-6 lead at the 16:28 mark, then Wayne State scored the next 11 points and built a 38-22 lead by intermission on their way to the easy win.
Junior forward Trey Deveaux led Wayne State in scoring with 16 points – 13 coming in the opening half. David Harmon (13) and Alec Millender (11) also hit double digits for the Wildcats with 12 players scoring in the contest.
Wayne State made 33-of-61 shots in the game for 54.1 percent. WSC were 7-of-19 from the 3-point line and 13-for-16 at the charity stripe.
Wayne State dominated the boards by a final tally of 47-25 with Cody McCullough grabbing eight boards for the Wildcats followed by Deveaux with seven. Deveaux, Saunders and Elijah Watson each had three assists with Millender and Saunders both credited with three steals.
The Wildcats (5-0) open Northern Sun Conference play at home Tuesday, hosting Southwest Minnesota State at 5:30 p.m. in Rice Auditorium.
