Silence rolled over the crowd when Trae Vandeberg ran down the court with the ball with 9.4 seconds left in the game Saturday night against the University of Mary in Bismark, N.D.

VandeBerg pulled up to the three point line, shot the ball, and it was in mid-air when the buzzer went off. The ball swished into the hoop.

The Wildcats won 77-75 over the Marauders, who led for most of the game with the biggest lead at nine points. The first half consisted of two ties and nine lead changes.

“I have confidence in myself to make a shot like that,” said VandeBerg, a 6-foot-3 freshman guard from Madison, S.D.

Early in the second half the Wildcats tied the score 39-39.

The Marauders had a seven-point lead 74-67 with 50 seconds left in the game. The Wildcats continued to battle as they tied the score with ten seconds left to play.

Marquealis Edwards from Mary missed a layup as Jordan Cornelius rebounded the ball and dished it to VandeBerg, who made the game-winning shot.

“The plan at the time was to get a stop. We got the rebound and I just started taking off and luckily I made the shot,” VandeBerg said.

“It was pretty crazy when Trae made the shot. Everyone and the bench especially freaked out,” said Austin Esters, a 6-foot 2 freshman guard from Bettendorf, Iowa.

Wayne State had 19 points off of turnovers, 30 from the paint, 18 from second chance points, 6 from fast breaks and 15 bench points.

“I felt great about this weekend’s game. We worked hard all week, and getting what we had been working for was a great feeling. Especially against a pretty good athletic team,” Esters said.

Wayne State was 29 of 65 from the field for 45 percent. The Wildcats were 7 of 22 from behind the arc, and 12 of 20 (60 percent) at the free throw line.

Unlike Saturday’s thrilling win, the Wildcats had a tougher time on Friday night’s game against Minot State. The Wildcats lost 76-60 after a rough start, trailing by 9 in the first half, 33-24.

Minot used that to their advantage to continue to build a 20-point lead early in the second half, making it hard for the Wildcats to come back. The ‘Cats did not let that affect them when Cornelius scored eight straight points with two three pointers and one inside the paint to start closing the gap up to 59-47.

Wayne State was 21 of 54 from the field for 37 percent. The Cats’ were 8 of 28 from behind the arc and 12 of 19 from the free throw.

“We have progressed a lot,” Esters said. “Just seeing the difference from watching film for the first time of the Indian Hills game to recently the difference is crazy, we have made some huge steps.”

The Wildcats will faceoff against Morehead on Friday at 8 p.m. and Northern State Saturday at 6 p.m. in Rice Auditorium.

Minot State 76, Wayne State 60
Wayne State………………24 36-60
Minot State…………..…..33 43-76
WSC: Esters 11, Cornelius 11, VandeBerg 11, Kurth 10, Nagy 9, Jacks 8
MSC: McDonald 18, Robinson 17, Prosser 12, Korf 9, Rudolph 8, Pelo 5, Mertens 4, Williams 2, Green 1

Wayne State 77, Mary 75
Wayne State………………32 45-75
University of Mary…….….37 38-75
WSC: Cornelius 21, Nagy 13, VandeBerg 13, Kurth 13, Esters 7, Heesch 6, Jacks 2, Holdsworth 2
UMC: Velasco 22, Decoste 14, Edwards 13, Jefferson 8, Anderson 6, Mason 4, Scott 4, Henry 3, Lindquist 1