Wayne, Neb. –  The Minnesota State men’s basketball team – ranked #3 in the nation - earned a 68-52 win over Wayne State Friday night in front of 817 fans in Rice Auditorium on the campus of Wayne State College.

The win pushed Minnesota State’s record to 17-0 and established a new school record for consecutive victories. 

“I thought the guys answered the call at halftime,” said head coach Matt Margenthaler.  “The difference lately has been our bench and tonight it was no different.  This is a big win for us, but we need to focus now and get ready for a very talented Augustana squad tomorrow night.”

The first half was very slow and methodical as neither team established much offense – despite the Mavericks shooting 52.4 percent – as the Mavericks opened a 30-29 lead a the break.  The 30 points in the first-half marked the lowest scoring first-half output by the Mavericks this year. 

Minnesota State forced 12 first half turnovers by the Wildcats but were outrebounded by WSC, 15-10, including 8-3 on the offensive end. 

The Mavericks started the second half on an 8-0 run as senior wing Jefferson Mason stole the ball on the opening possession and took it coast-to-coast for a two-handed slam.  On the next WSC possession, Minnesota State forced another turnover and converted it to points when senior guard Jermain Davis laid-in a put-back. 

Senior point guard Jesse Clark continued the run with a beautiful coast-to-coast lay-up in timeout to force the Wildcats into a full timeout.    Following the timeout, another Wildcat turnover resulted in points as junior Joe Drapcho gathered his own missed shot and knocked down a eight-foot jumper.

Wayne State answered with a 9-1 run of its own to cut the Maverick lead to 39-38 with 12:28 remaining.

Minnesota State and junior guard Marcus Hill then used a 13-0 run – 11 of which were scored by Hill to push a 52-38 Maverick lead and never look back.  Clark hit a running jumper to close the run. 

Wayne State cut the lead to nine with 3:18 left before Minnesota State regained a double-digit lead and never looked back.

Minnesota State was led in scoring by senior center Travis Nelson who finished with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting.  Hill added 11 points.  Mason hauled in a team-high seven rebounds while Davis added a season-high six board.

The Mavericks shot 52.9 percent from the floor while limiting Wayne State to an icy 40.8 percent.

Wayne State won the battle of the board, 30-28, including 13-8 on the offensive end.