East Central (Okla.) led from start to finish in defeating Wayne State 89-76 Friday evening at the Bison Crossover Men’s Basketball Challenge in Shawnee, Okla.
Wayne State never led in the contest. The Wildcats trailed 19-9 just 6:30 into the game, but closed within two at 21-19 following an Al’Tavius Jackson 3-pointer with 9:42 to go before halftime.
The Wildcats were still within three at 30-27 after a Henry Penner layup with 5:10 left before intermission, but East Central went on a 12-2 run to take a 42-29 lead and finished the first half leading 43-34.
East Central built a 17-point lead (64-47) with 11:47 to play, but Wayne State made one last charge at the Tigers and got as close as four points at 66-62 following a Nate Thayer layup with 8:36 remaining. The Tigers then responded with eight straight points to push the lead back to 12 at 74-62.
Wayne State pulled within six one last time at 79-73 following a Jackson trey with 4:32 to play, but East Central missed just two shots down the stretch and went 6-6 at the line to stave off the Wildcats.
Jordan Janssen led Wayne State with 18 points and 13 rebounds while Jackson scored 18. Nick Ferrarini also hit double digits with 13. Janssen handed out six assists and had three steals in the loss.
Wayne State (0-4) meets Oklahoma Baptist Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the final game of the Bison Crossover Challenge.
