Sophomores Jordan Janssen and Nick Ferrarini each scored 20 points as Wayne State helped coach Jeff Kaminsky reach the 500-win plateau with a 73-63 win over Central Missouri in a non-conference matchup Friday at Rice Auditorium.
Wayne State trailed a good share of the first half, but the game was close as the visiting Mules held a pair of six-point leads. The Wildcats had a short-lived advantage at 28-27 following a Nate Mohr 3-pointer at the 4:32 mark, but Central Missouri finished the first half with a 34-31 lead.
Central Missouri opened the second half with a 3-pointer for a 37-31 lead, but Wayne State came to life with a 13-0 run over the next 4:54 to take a 44-37 lead.
The Mules came back and knotted the score at 54-54 with 7:25 remaining, but Wayne State scored 11 of the next 12 points and took a 65-55 lead on a Ben Dentlinger basket with 2:54 to play.
Wayne State took their biggest lead at 71-57 on a Nick Ferrarini 3-pointer and closed with the 10-point win to give Kaminsky his 500th career win.
Janssen accounted for 20 points and 11 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the year while Ferrarini also reached 20 points.
Wayne State held a 37-31 edge in rebounding over the Mules with 16 offensive rebounds. Janssen hauled in 11 boards for WSC with Dentlinger adding six boards. Nate Mohr had five steals and four assists for the Wildcats.
Wayne State (3-5) will close out its non-conference schedule Tuesday evening with a game at Nebraska-Kearney at 7 p.m.
