With NSIC Tournament brackets being posted Saturday night, the Wayne State College men’s and women’s basketball teams were one of the first to conclude their 22-game league schedules during an afternoon trip north.
From the MSU Dome in Minot, North Dakota, WSC visited Minot State University.
The Wayne State College men suffered an 84-80 loss while the Wildcat women dropped a 69-59 decision against the host Beavers.
In the men’s game, Minot State led 45-31 at half and built their lead to at-most 18 points with 12:37 remaining in the game. WSC would tie the game at 76-76 late and even used a 49-39 second half scoring advantage. Final favored Minot State University winning 84-80 to improve to 23-8 (14-8 NSIC) as the Wildcats fell to 16-12 (10-12 NSIC).
Wayne State College was led in scoring by two career-high performers. Freshman Matt Noll (11-16 FG/4-5 3PT/6-7 FT) recorded 32 points, three rebounds, one assist and one block as fifth-year senior Jay Saunders (11-14 FG/0-1 3PT/3-3 FT) followed with 25 points, five rebounds, one assist and six steals.
Other scoring came from sophomore JJ Ferrin (five rebounds) with nine points, junior transfer Kai Smith (three rebounds) added seven points, fifth-year senior Sean Stokes (three assists) tallied four points as fifth-year senior Cody McCullough (five rebounds/one block) tacked on three points.
The Wildcats shot 32-56 (57.1%) from the field, 6-20 (30%) from behind the arc and 10-13 (76.9%) at the charity stripe.
Minot State University leaders were Jaxon Gunville with 31 points on 10 made three’s, Caleb Van De Griend recorded a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds, Ayouba Berthe added 15 points as Jalen Cook scored 14 points.
The Beavers finished 26-60 (43.3%) from the floor, 14-35 (40%) from the three-point line and 18-23 (78.3%) from the foul line.
Wayne State College won the battle in the paint (38-20), fast break scoring (12-7) and bench scoring (7-3).
During the women’s outing, Minot State built a 23-15 first quarter advantage as both teams scored 14 points in the second quarter with the host Beavers leading 37-29 at the half. Minot State added to their lead with a 19-15 third quarter as the Wildcats won the fourth, 15-13. Final favored Minot State University winning 69-59 to improve to 10-19 (9-13 NSIC) as Wayne State College fell to 11-15 (8-14 NSIC).
Wayne State College was led in scoring by senior Maya Fitzpatrick (5-16 FG/1-7 3PT/2-3 FT) with 13 points, four rebounds, one assist, three steals and two blocks as senior Carsyn Boswell (4-7 FG/3-4 3PT) followed with 11 points, three rebounds and two assists.
Other scoring came from junior Lily Fitzgerald (two rebounds) and junior Kyla VanDonkersgoed (six rebounds/one assist/one block) both with nine points, junior Meg Rietz (seven rebounds/four assists/one steal/one block) added six points, senior Delaney Clark (five rebounds/one steal/one block) tallied five points, freshman Emma Frost tacked on four points as sophomore Brooklyn Kruse closed with two points.
The Wildcats shot 24-56 (42.9%) from the field, 6-21 (28.6%) from behind the arc and 5-11 (45.5%) at the charity stripe.
Minot State University leaders were Emma Mogen with 24 points as 11 point scoring came from Katie Aberle and Jessica Mogen.
The Beavers finished 26-56 (46.4%) from the floor, 7-20 (35%) from the three-point line and 10-12 (83.3%) from the foul line.
Minot State won the battle in the paint (38-32) and fast break scoring (9-2) as WSC won the bench scoring (15-14).
First round NSIC Tourney play was to begin on Wednesday, Feb. 26 as both WSC teams were inside the top 12 and will be on the road.
