The Wayne State Wildcats let a potential win slip through their paws on Friday night in Sioux Falls, S.D.

 
WSC fought well in the first half, but struggled during the second, which USF took advantage of and won 79-58.

 
During the first half, Sioux Falls held a 30-22 advantage, but the ‘Cats shooters got hot by scoring nine of the next 10 points. Going into halftime, the Cougars only led by three, 39-36.

 
“We did a nice job of executing on the offensive end [in the first half],” head coach Brian Dolan said. “Defensively, we did a good job covering Mack Johnson [Cougar’s leading scorer].”

 
The game was tied 39-39 in the opening minutes of the second half. But USF scored 13 straight points and held a commanding 52-39 lead.

 
“We got outplayed for about five minutes, and that was the difference,” Dolan said. “They had more energy, we outplayed them the last five [minutes], but the damage was already done.”

 
Sioux Falls kept the pressure on WSC and never let the game become a close contest again. USF finished the game with a 21-point win.

 
Adam Moon led ‘Cats scorers with a game-high 20 points. Matt Thomas finished with 14.

 
USF was led by the combination of Mack Johnson and Kebu Johnson, who each scored 16 points in the win.

 
Three-point shooting fueled SMSU’s 88-76 victory over the Wildcats on Saturday evening in Marshall, Minn.

 
Southwest Minnesota State shot 11-24 from three-point land for the game.

 
Early on, leads were traded several times with no clear advantage to either team. However, SMSU went on a scoring tear by sinking five 3-pointers and building a 43-31 lead.

 
WSC’s offense cut the Mustangs lead to five before halftime, 45-40.

 
“We played zone [defense] for the first time all season and forced 20 turnovers which was a season-high,” Dolan said. “Three of their 3-point buckets shouldn’t have gone in, it was just luck.”

 
WSC took the fight to SMSU as the second half began, and a Thomas 3-point shot gave the ‘Cats a 52-49 lead.

 
A 14-2 run by the Mustangs later in the half gave them the lead 68-56. WSC played with desperation for a comeback, but could not close the score within 10 points as the contest came to a close.

 
“In the second half we made adjustments,” Dolan said. “We played with the most energy all year. We missed a few chances and that cost us.”

 
Both teams had five players who scored in double-digits for the game.

 
Thomas led Wayne with 16 points, while Ryan Bruggeman was top scorer for the Mustangs with 15.

 
Wayne State is now 5-21 overall and 3-17 in the NSIC. Southwest Minnesota State is 13-12 and 9-11 in league play.

 
The Wildcats will return home this weekend for the final times of the season at Rice Auditorium. They host Winona State on Friday at 8 p.m. and Upper Iowa on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Wayne State 36 22 58
USF 39 40 79
WSC: Moon 7-13 6-6 20, Thomas 4-9 4-6 14, Cornelius 2-13 3-3
7, Zumbrennen 1-4 3-4 5, Esters 2-4 0-0 4, Nagy 0-2 4-6
4, Goodwin 0-1 2-2 2, Janssen 1-8 0-0 2, Andersen 0-1 0-0 0,
Burneika 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-55 22-27 58.
USF: Johnson 5-7 5-8 16, Johnson 6-14 2-5 16; Stotts 4-10 3-6
11, Hurtt 5-11 0-0 11, Guerbert 3-11 1-1 7, Thomas 2-3
1-2 6, Wessels 2-2 1-1 5, Aase 2-5 0-1 4, Poe 1-2 0-0 2,
Rothermund 0-1 1-2 1, Finneman 0-1 0-0 0, Pastrano 0-1 0-0 0,
Dellavedova 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-68 14-26 79.

Wayne State 40 36 76
SMSU 45 43 88
WSC: Thomas 4-13 6-8 16, Goodwin 6-9 0-0 15, Moon 7-11 0-0 14,
Esters 5-10 1-2 11, Andersen 4-6 2-2 10, Janssen 1-3 2-2 5,
Cornelius 2-8 0-0 5, Zumbrennen 0-3 0-0 0, Nagy 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 29-64 11-14 76.
SMSU: Bruggeman 4-7 5-7 15, Condon 4-10 2-2 14, Weg 4-6 5-7 13,
Schafer 4-13 2-2 11, Bartlett 4-9 2-4 11, Kirk 3-3 3-5 9, Delmore 3-5 0-0 9,
Lee 1-2 2-2 4, Weix 1-2 0-0 2, Osmundson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-58 21-29 88.