The Wayne State men’s and women’s basketball teams both came back from the Thanksgiving break and celebrated with home wins in non-conference action Saturday at Rice Auditorium.
In the women’s game, Haley Vesey and Wayne native Kylie Hammer both notched career highs as the Wildcats came away with a 79-65 win over Peru State to improve to 4-1 on the year.
The Wildcats never trailed in the contest, but the visiting Bobcats kept the game respectable in the second half after trailing 47-26 at intermission.
Wayne State built a 23-10 lead after the first quarter and made 10 of 20 shots in the second quarter to hold a 47-26 lead at halftime.
Peru State outscored the Wildcats 25-19 in the third quarter and got as close as 11 points before the Wildcats got some of the momentum back and led 66-51 after three quarters. Peru State could get no closer than 13 points after that as the hosts went on to the 14-point win.
Five players recorded double figures on the night for the Wildcats, led by Vesey with a career-high 16 points and freshman Hammer with 15. Other Wildcats in double digits included Erin Norling with 15 points, Andrea Larson 13 and Halley Busse 12. Alyssa Marsh-Contreras was the lone double digit scorer for Peru State, scoring a game-high 24 points.
Peru State edged Wayne State 53-52 in rebounding, with Busse grabbing nine boards for the Wildcats followed by Taylor Reiner and Larson with eight apiece.
Hammer handed out five of Wayne State’s 16 assists and also led the Wildcats in steals with four. Vesey and Taylor Wangerin each recorded two blocked shots.
In men’s action, all five starters scored in double figures as the Wildcats outlasted Mount Marty 75-57 to improve to 4-1 on the season.
After the two teams played it close the first four minutes, the Wildcats went on a 12-2 run to take a 22-11 lead following a layup from Al’Tavius Jackson, and pushed it to as many as 19 at 33-14 on a Nick Ferrarini 3-pointer before taking a 40-24 lead at intermission.
Wayne State maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the game, but the Lancers made a pair of runs at the Wildcats to cut the deficit to 12 before the Wildcats came away with the victory.
With Wane State leading 48-30, Mount Marty scored six straight points and got within 48-36 on a Logan Fleming layup with 14:50 remaining. The Wildcats responded and took their biggest lead of the night at 22 points (64-42) on a Trevin Joseph layup at the 7:51 mark.
Mount Marty made one more surge on the Wildcats, getting within 12 at 66-54 on a Jonah Larson jumper with 4:39 to play, but the Wildcats put the game out of reach with a 9-1 run to increase the lead back to 20 points at 75-55.
Jordan Janssen led the Wildcats with 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Trevin Joseph added 15 points followed by Nick Ferrarini with 11 and Kendall Jacks and Vance Janssen with 10 apiece. Colby Johnson was the lone Mount Marty player in double figures, scoring 18 for the Lancers.
Wayne State held a 38-28 edge in rebounding over MMC thanks to eight boards by Jordan Janssen and seven caroms from Jackson. Jackson and Vance Janssen each had four assists while Jordan Janssen, Jackson and Ben Dentlinger each were credited with two blocked shots
The Wayne State men host Nebraska-Kearney in a 7 p.m. matchup Tuesday at Rice Auditorium. The Wildcats open Northern Sun Conference play next Saturday on the road with a visit to Augustana University at the Sioux Falls Arena. The women play at 3:30 p.m., with the men to follow at 5:30 p.m.
