WAYNE, Neb. --- The Minnesota State men's basketball team finished their weekend on a high note Saturday afternoon as they bested the Wayne State Wildcats 80-77.

With the win, MSU improves to 4-2, including a 3-1 NSIC record. With the loss, WSC drops to 3-3, including a 3-1 conference record.

The early part of the first half remained close as both teams were tied at 13-13 with 13:24 to go. WSC was then able to put together an 11-5 run to go up 24-18 with 9:26 remaining in the half. Junior Devonte Thedford and sophomore Quincy Anderson each paced the Maverick offense with six points early on.

The Mavericks would then respond with a 14-7 run of their own to take their first lead of the game at 32-31 with 4:50 to go in the half, with Anderson netting eight of MSU's 14 points during that run. MSU finished the half outscoring the Wildcats 12-5 to take a 44-36 lead into halftime.

Anderson led all scorers in the first half with 19 points, while sophomore Malik Willingham added eight points. As a team, MSU shot 53.8% from the field in the first half, including a 9-of-13 (.692) showing from three point range. 

Minnesota State came out firing in the second half and built its largest lead of the game at 63-47 with 12:27 to go. The Wildcats were able to chip away at MSU's lead over the next three minutes to get back within nine points of the Mavericks at 63-54 with 9:45 to go.

The Mavericks led by as many as 13 points in the final 9:45 of the game, but Wayne State was able to claw its way back to within two points of the Mavericks at 76-74 with 1:08 to go. MSU ended any thought of a comeback in the closing seconds as both Anderson and senior Jamal Nixon each connected on a pair of free throws to put the game out of reach as the Mavericks went on to split the series with an 80-77 win.

Anderson finished his day with a career-high 26 points, which included a 10-of-10 performance from the free throw line. Thedford and Willingham each chipped in with 16 points also, while freshman Brady Williams tallied 12 points.

As a team, MSU shot 46.2% from the field, including a 14-of-25 (.560) showing from downtown. The Mavericks also shot 18-of-23 (.783) from the free throw line and forced 11 WSC turnovers.

Jodan Janssen led all scorers with 29 points, to go along with 14 rebounds for a double-double. Nate Mohr tallied 14 points also. As a team, WSC shot 48.3% from the field, but connected on just 4-of-12 (.333) shots from downtown.

The Mavericks begin a two-game road series next weekend as they take on the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs in Marshall Minn., Friday's tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., with Saturday's start time set for 4:00 p.m.

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