Crookston, Minn. – Wayne State made the first five of their first six second half shots, gaining separation from the Golden Eagles and ultimately getting the win on Saturday night over Minnesota Crookston, 74-59.
 
Wayne State moves to one game over .500 at 14-13 (7-14 NSIC), while the Golden Eagles fall to 6-20 (3-17 NSIC).
 
Ben Hoverson (Jr., F, Grand Forks, N.D.) would continue to shoot the ball well on the weekend, burying a three from the right slot for a quick 3-0 lead.
 
WSC would take a 6-5 lead, but a De'Antray Hughes (R-Sr., F, New Orleans, La.) layup and a Blaize Sagna (Jr., G, London, England) three would give the Golden Eagles a 10-6 lead.
 
WSC would go on a run and take a 22-16 lead, but a Jordan Mitchell (R-Jr., F, Columbus, Ohio) layup in the paint and back-to-back three's from Sagna and Reid Grant (Jr., G, Johnston, Iowa) would regain a two point lead.
 
Peter Fuchs, Jr., (R-Fr., G, Wausau, Wis.) would finish a floater in the paint to give the Golden Eagles a 31-29 lead, which would be the advantage heading into the halftime break.
 
The Wildcats would come out of the halftime break and score the first six points of the half, but Sagna would momentarily halt the momentum with a layup to cut the deficit to just two at 35-33.
 
WSC would extend their lead out to nine at 47-38, but six straight Golden Eagle points, capped off by a thunderous dunk from Hughes would cut the deficit back down to a possession at 47-44.
 
Wayne State would take a 55-49 lead, but a wild sequence would result in a layup for Fuchs, Jr., cutting the lead back down to four at 55-51.
 
That four point deficit would be as close as the Golden Eagles would get, as the Wildcats would pull away down the stretch for the 15 point victory.
 
Fuchs, Jr., finished with a career-high 16 points off the bench for the Golden Eagles, finishing 7-20 from the field. Sagna poured in 15 and pulled down five rebounds, while Grant scored 10 points on 4-8 shooting. Mitchell and Hughes scored eight and six points, respectively. Mitchell also pulled down 11 boards.
 
The Golden Eagles outrebounded the Wildcats by three, but shot just 25 percent from long range in the loss.
 
Thank You Seniors
The Golden Eagles honored three outstanding seniors today in Sagna, Hughes and Xzavier Jones (Sr., G, Milwaukee, Wis.). We wish them the best in their future endeavors.
 
What's Next
The Golden Eagles will close out 2023-24 next weekend on the road starting with nationally ranked Minnesota State. Tip-off with the Mavericks is set for 7:30 P.M., on Friday night