The Wayne State Men’s Basketball team went 2-0 this weekend sweeping conference opponents, Winona State and Upper Iowa University in front of a home crowd at Rice Auditorium. The Wildcats are now 13-3 on the season and 8-2 in the NSIC.

WSC opened up the contest with a 12-6 lead over Winona, and eventually going into halftime with an advantage at 49-37, off of a 13-3 run over Winona. The Wildcats kept a double-digit lead for most of the second half with help from senior guard Vance Janssen pacing Wayne State in scoring with 21 points.

Freshman guard Nick Ferrarini had a career-high in scoring with 18 points while shooting 75 percent from the field. Senior guard Vance Janssen led all scorers for The ’Cats with 21 points, followed by senior guard Kendall Jacks with 19 points and freshman forward Jordan Janssen.

“We had prepared well for Winona and knew that even though their record might not show it, we knew they are a really solid team,” Ferrarini said. “We had to watch a lot of film from our previous game against them so we would know what to expect coming into this past weekend.”

Wayne State shot 48 percent from the field on the night, making 31 of their 64 shots. The Wildcats also tied season-high shooting from three-point range, making 11 of 22 from behind the arc. The Wildcats also held the rebounding advantage over Winona, 32-31.

In the second game of the weekend, Wayne State faced Upper Iowa University in a nail biter, fending off the Peacocks 85-81 to complete the weekend sweep in Rice Auditorium.

Jacks moved to ninth place on the WSC all-time scoring list thanks to scoring 16 total points in the match over UIU, improving him to 1,377 overall career points.

“This past weekend was a good stepping stone for the remainder of the season,” Jacks said. “Sweeping teams on our side of the conference [South Division] is key to what we want to accomplish for this season.”

Senior Trevin Joseph paced Wayne State in scoring with 28 points followed by Vance Janssen, Jordan Janssen and Jacks each contributing 16 points on the night. Point Guard Vance Janssen also dished out six assists in the contest.

WSC dominated the boards, outrebounding Upper Iowa 36-29 with help from freshmen Ferrarini and Jordan Janssen cashing in six rebounds apiece. The Wildcats finished the game shooting 46.9 percent, making 30 of their 64 shots attempted while also shooting 11 of 20 from three-point range. Wayne State was also perfect from the free-throw line, making 14 out of 14.

“We understand the importance of playing two top teams from the North Division this upcoming weekend,” Jacks said. “We only play [Minnesota State Moorhead and Northern State] once a year and we all want the same thing, so it will be another exciting weekend for the squad.”

Wayne State is back in action this upcoming weekend as the team travels to play conference opponents, MSU Moorhead Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. and Northern State on Saturday evening at 5:30 p.m.