Wayne State used an alley-oop inbounds pass and basket from Vance Janssen to Ben Dentlinger with 0.4 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime, then Janssen hit two free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Wildcats a thrilling 82-80 overtime win at Winona State Saturday.
It was the seventh straight win for the Wildcats, capping Wayne State’s first-ever road sweep of Winona State and Upper Iowa in NSIC play.
Winona State held a 16-14 lead just shy of the midway point of the first half, but Wayne State used a 10-0 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 24-16 following a Vance Janssen jumper at the 7:20 mark.
A Nick Ferrarini 3-point play put the Wildcats ahead 27-20 with 4:50 to play, but Winona State produced 13 consecutive points over the next 3:17 to take a 33-27 lead. The Wildcats closed the half with six points in a row to tie the score at the half, 33-33.
After Winona State opened the second half with the first basket, Wayne State held the lead for the next 10 minutes until the host Warriors got red-hot from the 3-point line to take control of the game.
Wayne State held a 52-47 lead following a Ben Dentlinger layup with 12:04 to play, but the Warriors canned four straight 3-pointers to highlight a scoring surge that gave Winona State a 68-60 lead with 6:13 to go. The Wildcats responded with an 11-0 run and took a 71-68 lead on a Vance Janssen jumper with 1:07 to play.
After two baskets by Winona State, Vance Janssen came up big again for Wayne State with a runner from the left of the lane giving the Wildcats a 73-72 lead with 7.5 seconds to play. On the ensuing inbounds pass, Winona State’s Devin Whitelow went coast-to-coast and made a layup and was fouled with 1.7 remaining, making the free throw for a Warrior lead of 75-73.
The Wildcats attempted an inbounds pass that was knocked out of bounds in Wayne State’s front court with 0.4 seconds to play following a video review. Wayne State set up a play where Vance Janssen lobbed a pass from in front of the Wildcat bench back door to Ben Dentlinger, who tipped the ball off the glass as the horn sounded to send the game into overtime tied at 75-75.
Winona State’s Kevion Taylor opened the overtime with a trey giving the Warriors their only lead of the extra session at 78-75. A Nick Ferrarini 3-pointer knotted the score followed by a Trevin Joseph layup that put Wayne State in front 80-78.
Taylor answered on the next possession with a jumper for Winona State to tie the score at 80-80 with 1:34 to play. Both teams missed shots on the following possessions and Wayne State had the ball with under 10 seconds to play when Janssen drove towards the basket and was fouled with 2.5 seconds left. He calmly stepped to the line and made both free throws to give Wayne State the lead. A Winona State inbounds pass was tipped at center court and time ran out as the Wildcats escaped with the win.
Vance Janssen paced Wayne State in scoring with a career-high 25 points, going 11-of-18 from the field. Kendall Jacks added 15 points, Joseph scored 14 with Jordan Janssen and Ferrarini also hitting double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Wayne State held a slight 36-34 edge in rebounding with Vance Janssen grabbing six for the Wildcats. Joseph had three assists while Dentlinger finished with three of Wayne State’s seven blocks.
The Wildcats (8-1, 3-0) will be at home next weekend in the friendly confines of Rice Auditorium, hosting Bemidji State Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and Minnesota Crookston Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
