Doane University shot 58 percent from the field (28-48) to edge Wayne State College 76-72 in non-conference men’s basketball played Saturday afternoon at Rice Auditorium in Wayne. The game was an exhibition contest for the 7-4 Tigers while the Wildcats fall to 3-3 on the season.
Wayne State only held two leads in the entire first half – 2-0 and 22-20 with 5:21 to play before intermission.
Doane used hot shooting in the first half, going 7 of 11 behind the arc and 15-27 overall, to build an eight-point lead 37-29 before closing with a 37-30 lead on the Wildcats.
The Wildcats still trailed early in the second half, but WSC surged midway through the second half to take a seven point lead at one point.
Wayne State’s first lead in the second half came at 46-45 following a Nate Mohr 3-pointer with 13:16 to play.
After exchanging several leads, WSC went on a 10-2 scoring run and turned a 56-55 deficit into a 65-58 lead with 7:14 remaining following a Justin Eagins layup.
The Wildcats still led 69-66 with 3:19 left when Doane scored the next eight points to grab a 74-69 lead with 18 seconds left.
A 3-pointer from Mohr with 11 seconds to play cut the Tiger lead to 74-72, but Doane sealed the win with a pair of Anthony Laravie free throws to defeat the Wildcats 76-72.
WSC junior center Jordan Janssen poured in 27 points for the Wildcats, making 8 of 15 shots from the field and 11 for 15 at the free throw line. Mohr scored 19 points with Eagins reaching double digits at 10 points.
The Wildcats shot 24 of 56 from the field for 42.9 percent, going 5 of 15 behind the 3-point line, while making 19 of 26 free throws.
Josiah Gardiner scored 27 points for Doane followed by Laravie with 25.
Doane made 28 of 48 shots for 58.3 percent and sank 11 of 16 3-pointers. The Tigers were 9 of 18 at the free throw line.
WSC held a 32-25 advantage in rebounding with Cody McCullough hauling in 12 boards for the Wildcats while Alex Oberhauser snagged eight boards for Doane.
The Wildcats conclude their non-conference schedule Monday evening hosting Nebraska-Kearney in a 7 p.m. contest at Rice Auditorium.
