The WSC men’s basketball team is off to a hot start on the season with a 4-1 overall record following two wins against Nebraska Christian and Mount Marty.

On Nov. 15, WSC shot 51.4 percent from the field and put up 100 points for the first time this season as they went on to win the game 101-52 over Nebraska Christian College, who was 3-3 heading into the game.

The ’Cats were led by senior guards Kendall Jacks and Trevin Joseph Jr., who each put up 18 points.

The game on Saturday against Mount Marty was slightly closer, but the ’Cats were still able to take home the win with a final score of 75-58. All five of the Wildcats’ starters reached double-digits in the scoring column, propelling the ’Cats to yet another home victory.

The ’Cats were led by freshman forward Jordan Janssen on the game, who totaled 18 points and added eight rebounds.

“It feels pretty good to get started how we have,” Jacks said. “Especially seeing how this is my fifth year, it’s really important that we get out to a good start. ”

One thing WSC has done well other than scoring is rebounding. Against NCC, they were able to corral 53 boards, and against MM they gathered 38.

“Defense and rebounds have kind of been what we’ve been focusing on,” Jacks said. “We’ve been working on those two things in practice every day. We also take pride in leading the conference in forced turnovers per game again and we’re just trying to keep that up.”

With only three seniors, this ’Cats team has a different feel to it than years past.

“We just have a different dynamic to us,” senior guard Vance Janssen said. “We have a huge diversity of skills. The new guys and freshmen this year just have a different skill set and everybody is just putting pressure on the defense in a different way.”

Despite the strong core and fresh new talent, the ’Cats were predicted to finish 12 in the NSIC during the preseason rankings.

“That’s always good motivation,” Janssen said. “Every year I’ve been here we’ve been picked low so it’s always good motivation to get off to a good start and beat those teams that were picked ahead of you.”

The ’Cats look to improve their record on Dec. 1 when they travel to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to take on Augustana University.

Evelyn Knox
Evelyn Knox
Evelyn Knox
Evelyn Knox