Wayne State College exploded for 50 first-half points as the visiting Wildcats defeated Augustana 97-75 Saturday night at the Elmen Center.
Wayne State (2-3) shot just under 52 percent from the floor (15-29) in the first half, including a 7-for-10 effort from 3-point range. The Wildcats also converted 13 of 17 free throws.
As hot as WSC was, Augustana could not get its offense untracked, scoring just 25 points in the opening 20 minutes. The Vikings (5-3) shot 29 percent (9-31) from the field in the first half.
Nonetheless, Augustana tried to climb back into the game. Despite trailing by as many as 31 points, the Vikings cut the deficit to 16 with 4 minutes left to play. On its next possession, Augie missed a 3-pointer that would have trimmed the margin to 13.
Augustana got strong inside play from a trio of post players. Freshman
Tom VerDouw scored a career-high 24 points, while sophomore
Nick Olson and
Mike Klepatz added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Dallas Hodges led six WSC players in double digits with 22 points.
