Men's Basketball
Men's Basketball
Men's Basketball at Wayne State: SCSU 66, WSC 50
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Balanced Attack Leads Huskies Past Wildcats, 66-50
Friday, January 30, 2009
Andrew Bernstetter led the Huskies with 13 points and seven rebounds, while also adding two steals and two more blocks to his team leading total. |
Wayne, Neb. – Three different players scored in double figures and 10 players scored overall as the St. Cloud State men’s basketball team got back in the win column this evening (Jan. 30) with a 66-50 road win over Wayne State.
St. Cloud State (13-6, 8-4) held Wayne State (8-11, 4-8) off the scoreboard for over a 6:20 span in the second half as they turned a 13-point lead into a 21-point blowout, and held their second opponent to 50 points or less this season.
Andrew Bernstetter (St. Joseph, Minn.) led the way with and game high 13 points and a team high seven rebounds while Taylor Witt (Morris, Minn.) added 12 points and six assists and Theo Rothstein (St. Michael, Minn.) chipped in 10 points and five boards. However, the story of the night was the 20 minutes provided off the bench from Matt Schenck (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) who saw his first action since the Huskies began their last road trip on Jan. 9.
Schneck provided six points and five rebounds for the Huskies tonight, who held a 13-point halftime lead at 34-21 before going up by as much as 24 in the second half.
It was not the prettiest game to watch at times, as neither team shot over 40% from the field, or over 65% from the free throw line. The Huskies, though, found their advantage in turnovers, forcing the Wildcats into 24 giveaways and turning their opponent’s mistakes into 22 points. Conversely, Wayne State was able to muster just 10 points of 12 Husky turnovers.
The Wildcats took their first lead at 6-5 after a pair of free throws and then the two teams traded the baskets and the lead on the next five possessions before the Huskies took it back for good with at 11-10 following a Josh Ortmann (Buffalo, Minn.) lay-up at the 12:54 mark of the opening period.
Wayne State was able to stay within four of the Huskies over the next few minutes and got back to within two at 15-17 with 9:47 left to play, but from there a pair of Bernstetter three-pointers sandwiched around a Schneck lay-in put St. Cloud State ahead by 10 for the first time with 8:05 remaining.
The Wildcats could get no closer than sixth during the rest of the half, and once they did, the Huskies closed the period on a 7-0 run to take the 34-21 lead into the locker rooms. Bernstetter led all scorers with 10 in the half.
A Schneck jumper in the paint quickly made the Husky lead 15 to start the second half, and they would not lead by less than 13 the rest of the way, before finishing with the 66-50 final.
Bernstetter’s 13 points marks the first time since Dec. 12 & 13 that he has scored in double figures in back-to-back games, and Rothstein and Witt each set new career highs for consecutive games scoring in double figures with three and six respectively. This is the third consecutive season that SCSU has held at least two opponents to 50 points or less (Concordia being the other).
After losing three straight, the Huskies have now won three out of their last four and got their first win on the road since Dec. 6.
In the ever tightening race for the NSIC crown, the Huskies needed the win to keep pace with the league leaders. At 8-4 in the conference, SCSU sits in a three way tie for fourth place, behind three teams tied for first with 9-3 records. One game, and one game only, separates the top-six teams in the standings after 12 games.
The Huskies opponent tomorrow, Augustana, is one of the two teams tied with the Huskies in fourth place, and is coming off an 87-69 win this evening over Concordia. Also of note, the top team in the regional rankings that came out on Jan. 28, Northern State, lost today, 87-63, to MSU Moorhead.
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