League doubleheader number 21 of 22 closed out home competition for Wayne State College basketball.
From Rice Auditorium, WSC completed a four-game homestand welcoming Bemidji State on Saturday.
The Wayne State College men won 78-73 while the Wildcat women picked up a 58-55 victory against the visiting Beavers.
At halftime of the opposite game, five seniors were recognized for the both WSC men and WSC women.
Fifth-year seniors for the Wildcat men are Sean Stokes, Jay Saunders, Noah Erickson and Cody McCullough along with senior Ryan Blum.
Seniors for the WSC women are Abby Kopecky, Tate Norblade, Maya Fitzpatrick, Carsyn Boswell and Delaney Clark.
In the men’s game, Wayne State College jumped ahead at 51-24 in the first half to lead at-most by 27 points. Bemidji State then came storming back with a 49-27 second half which included an 8-0 run that ended in the final minute of the game. Final favored Wayne State College avenging their previous loss to the Beavers and held onto the 78-73 victory. WSC is now 16-11 (10-11 NSIC) as Bemidji State fell to 10-16 (7-13 NSIC).
Earlier this season, WSC suffered a 76-68 loss at Bemidji State on January 3.
Wayne State College was led in scoring by fifth-year senior Jay Saunders (7-11 FG/3-7 3PT/3-5 FT) with a career-high 20 points, five rebounds, three assists and one steal; 13-point scoring came from fifth-year senior Cody McCullough (5-10 FG/3-6 FT) with eight rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block as well as sophomore JJ Ferrin (5-8 FG/3-5 3PT) with one rebound and a career-high five assists and fifth-year senior Sean Stokes (4-8 FG/3-6 3PT) followed with 11 points, three rebounds and one steal.
Other scoring came from freshman Matt Noll (three rebounds/two steals) with seven points, junior transfer Kai Smith (five rebounds/three assists) added six points, fifth-year senior Noah Erickson (one rebound/one assist/two blocks) tallied five points as senior Ryan Blum, in his first-career start (one rebound/two assists/two steals) tacked on three points.
WSC shot 27-55 (49.1%) from the field, 13-31 (41.9%) from behind the arc and 11-19 (57.9%) at the foul line.
Bemidji State leaders were John Pecarich with 28 points on six made three’s, Tate Olson recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds as Daxten Dayley added 15 points on three made three’s.
BSU finished 25-52 (48.1%) from the floor, 11-26 (42.3%) from the three-point line and 12-18 (66.7%) from the charity stripe.
Bemidji State outrebounded Wayne State, 33 to 29, including 8 – 7 offensively which led to eight second chance points compared to five by the ‘Cats. WSC scored 12 points off of 11 Beaver turnovers while BSU scored eight points off of six Wildcat turnovers.
Bemidji State won the battle in the paint (26-24) while Wayne State won fast break scoring (18-5) and bench scoring (26-4).
During the women’s outing, Bemidji State led a high-scoring first quarter at 21-18 and extended their lead thanks to a 10-9 advantage in the second quarter to go up 31-27 at half. BSU led at-most by 13 points early in the third quarter. The Beavers won the third, 17-12 but the host Wildcats answered with a 19-7 fourth. Final favored Wayne State College winning 58-55 to snap a four-game losing streak improving to 11-14 (8-13 NSIC) as Bemidji State fell to 6-18 (4-16 NSIC).
Earlier this season, Wayne State College won 71-64 in double overtime at Bemidji State on January 3.
Wayne State College was led in scoring by senior Maya Fitzpatrick (7-13 FG/2-5 3PT/3-4 FT) with 19 points, four rebounds and two steals while eight-point scoring came from junior Kylah VanDonkersgoed (2-10 FG/1-2 3PT/3-6 FT) with two rebounds, one assist, two steals and a block as well as senior Tate Norblade (2-7 FG/0-1 3PT/4-5 FT) with seven rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block.
Other scoring came from senior Carsyn Boswell (two rebounds/one steal) and junior Meg Rietz (seven rebounds/one assist/one steal) both with six points, senior Delaney Clark (one rebound/two assists/one block) added five points, junior Rachel Dahlen (one rebound/one assist) followed with four points as sophomore Brooklyn Kruse (two rebounds) scored two points.
WSC shot 19-55 (34.5%) from the field, 4-18 (22.2%) from behind the arc and 16-23 (69.6%) at the foul line.
Bemidji State leaders were Tieryn Plasch with 2+ points and Ashlynne Guenther with nine points.
BSU finished 22-47 (46.8%) from the floor, 8-17 (47.1%) from the three-point line and 3-4 (75%) from the charity stripe.
Bemidji State outrebounded Wayne State, 33 to 30, including 4– 9 offensively which led to two second chance points compared to four by the ‘Cats. WSC scored 19 points off of 22 Beaver turnovers while BSU scored two points off of nine Wildcat turnovers.
Both teams scored 26 points in the paint while WSC won bench scoring (11-10) and Bemidji State won fast break scoring (5-0).
The Wayne State College men’s and women’s basketball teams will conclude regular season play at Minot State on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 1:30/3:30 p.m.
