WAYNE, Neb. – Sophomore guard
Gavin Baumgartner's 22 first-half points helped lead the Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team past Wayne State, 82-71 in action Friday night in Wayne, Neb. Baumgartner finished with a team-high 24 points.
The Dragons improve to 10-7 overall and 6-5 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Wayne State falls to 6-14 overall and 3-8 in the NSIC.
MSUM shot 43.1 percent (25-of-58) from the field and 30 percent (6-of-20) from beyond the arc compared to 47.5 percent (29-of-61) from the field and 33.3 percent (4-of-12) from three for the Wildcats.
Along with his team-high 24 points, Baumgartner led the Dragons on the glass with nine rebounds. Freshman forward
Jack Rusch finished with a career-high 20 points, with 14 of those coming in the second half. Senior guard
Johnny Beeninga scored 10 points and added four assists. Sophomore guard
Bryce Irsfeld finished with nine points.
The Dragons took control of the game in the first half. The only lead the Wildcats saw was at 8-7 with 17:12 to play in the first half. Down 8-7, the Dragons scored the next 12 points to put the Wildcats down 20-8 at the 14:57 mark. Wayne State rallied back and tied the game at 28-28 with 7:41 remaining in the first. MSUM was able to regain the lead and went into the half up 48-39.
In the second half, the Wayne State offense was able to keep the game close. A Wildcats layup with 1:26 remaining in the game cut the lead to just five at 74-69. Wayne State was forced to play the foul game to close the game. MSUM was able to go 8-8 on free throws in the final 1:30 to put the Wildcats down for good, winning 82-71.
Junior forward
Kaedrick Williams added seven points and four assists for the Dragons.
The Dragons look to build on this win with a road matchup with Augustana (S.D.) on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls.
Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: The Dragons won for the ninth time in a row tonight against Wayne State. This is the longest current winning streak against any other team. The next longest current winning streak is two against Upper Iowa.
