Wayne State men top MSU Moorhead for 14th straight time, winning 73-66 in Moorhead

Wayne, Neb.---  Brad Starken drained four consecutive three pointers in a span of 2:01 midway through the second half to fuel Wayne State College in a 73-66 Northern Sun Conference men’s basketball win Friday evening over MSU Moorhead in Moorhead, Minnesota.  It’s the 14th straight win for WSC over MSU Moorhead in men’s basketball dating back to the 2003 season.  WSC is now 7-2 overall and 3-2 in the NSIC while the Dragons fall to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in league play.
          
The Wildcats held the lead for a majority of the first half until a late scoring spree by the host Dragons gave MSU Moorhead a 33-32 lead at halftime.  With MSU Moorhead leading 11-9 with 15:08 remaining in the first half, WSC went on 12-1 scoring spurt and took their biggest lead in the half at 21-12 with 10:40 to go in the first half following a three point play by Elijah Miller.
          
Later in the half with WSC leading 27-23, MSU Moorhead scored 10 consecutive points in a span of 3:49 to take a 33-27 lead over the Wildcats with 44 seconds remaining in the half.  However, Wayne State’s Jason Jensen closed the half with a jumper and a steal and long-range three pointer in the final 16 seconds to pull the Wildcats within one point at halftime 33-32.
          
WSC started quickly in the second half, scoring the first six points to take a 38-33 lead on a Derrell Williams jumper with 16:10 left in the game.  Then MSU Moorhead strung together eight straight points, highlighted by back-to-back three’s from Andrew VanHavermaet, giving the Dragons the lead back at 41-38 with 12:57 remaining.  Wayne State’s Brad Starken then caught fire, draining four straight three pointers in a span of 2:01 to give WSC a 50-43 lead with 10:06 to go in the game.
          
MSU Moorhead would get as close as three points on three occasions, 59-56 at the 5:09 mark, 61-58 with 4:23 to go and 69-66 with 18 seconds remaining following a three pointer by DJ Hamilton.  Wayne State’s Jason Jensen was fouled on the ensuing inbounds pass and canned two free throws to push the WSC lead to 71-66.  Following a MSU Moorhead turnover, Amry Shelby then sealed the win with two more free throws with nine seconds remaining to make the final score 73-66.
          
Senior Jason Jensen led four Wildcat players in double figures with 19 points followed by Brad Starken with 15.  Amry Shelby and Derrell Williams each added 14 points in the win for the Wildcats, who shot 47.1 percent from the field making 24 of 51 shots.  WSC was 9 of 18 behind the three point line and 16 of 19 (84.2%) from the free throw stripe.
          
6-8 sophomore forward Alex Novak led MSU Moorhead with a double-double by posting 14 points and 10 rebounds followed by Tarell Clark with 12 points.  The Dragons made 27 of 55 shots in the game for 49.1 percent, hitting on 6 of 15 behind the three point line.  MSUM was just 6 of 13 from the charity stripe.
          
MSU Moorhead held a slight 28-25 advantage in rebounding over Wayne State thanks to Novak’s 10 rebounds.  Wayne State’s top rebounders were Ben Tasa and Derrell Williams with five boards apiece.  WSC had 14 turnovers in the game, two fewer than MSU Moorhead.
          
Wayne State will play at Minnesota, Crookston Saturday evening in a 6:00 p.m. Northern Sun Conference game.