In a battle with St. Cloud State, Wayne State loses 100-98 in an overtime thriller. In a previous matchup this season, Wayne State had won against St. Cloud State 83-59, but when it comes to playoffs it is a whole new game.  

In the first 15 minutes of the game, St. Cloud State could not be stopped going up 38-16 with 6:15 left on the clock, Wayne State had to make some buckets to get back into the game. With that in mind, Nate Mohr made two back-to-back three pointers, WSC had momentum and forced St. Cloud State to take a timeout and strategize. Nate Mohr had shot 4/5 from deep scoring 12 points in the last six minutes of the first half. To close out the first half, WSC was down 11 points, 47-38. Wayne State was now in full swing with the momentum on their side going into the second half. 

Once coming back out to the court after halftime, the WSC Men’s Basketball team was revitalized with a new energy. On the defensive side, they forced bad shots and turn overs. Within the first 10 minutes of the half, they had tied the game. It was anybody’s game to win. 

The last 10 minutes of the second half can only be described as a battle. The two teams playing an incredible offense and even better defenses, making sure to get rebounds and force tough shots. However, a tough defense could not stop the players from scoring. In the last five minutes of the game, there were 23 combined points between the two teams. After getting fouled with 20 seconds left, Alec Millende sunk both of his free throws to put the Cats up by one point. Once getting the ball back, St. Cloud State takes the ball back down the court to meet the Wildcat’s defense. St. Cloud State misses their shot to take the game and is forced to foul Nate Mohr. At the free-throw line, Mohr sinks both shot to make it a three-point game, 86-83. Quickly inbounding the ball, St. Cloud State charges up the court with 8 seconds left, St. Cloud State guard, Anthony Roberts, takes the dribble cross and pulls up from deep three-point range, landing the three and sending the game to overtime. 

With the scoreboard tied 86-86 and five minutes of overtime, it was time to fight harder than ever to win the game. In the first two minutes, St. Cloud State had taken a five-point lead 94-89.  Playing tough, hard-nosed basketball, WSC basketball makes St. Cloud State take tough shots and then follows that with two consecutive layups from Millender and Jordan Janssen; it had become a one-point game. St. Cloud State gets a layup with 30 seconds left on the clock, now it is a three-point game with 28 seconds left on the clock. WSC brings the ball up the court and swings the ball around to Nate Mohr, a missed three pointer leads to an offensive rebound. The ball gets kicked out to Justin Eagins for the wide open three-pointer, BANG! The game is now tied 98-98 with 19 seconds left on the clock. Once again, St. Cloud State charged down the court as the clock ticked down. With one second left, St. Cloud State’s guard, Ryan Bagley, goes for the layup cutting through two WSC defenders. As the clock buzzes, the ball falls to the ground. For the second time this game, St. Cloud State had forced the buzzer beater to move onto the second round of playoffs. 

The WSC Men’s Basketball team finishes their season 14-12 and 11-8 against the NSIC Conference.