St. Cloud State
8-9,6-7NSIC
Wayne State College
11-6,11-4NSIC
Huskies season comes to end in heartbreaking loss to Wayne State
2/25/2021 8:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ST. CLOUD, MINN. - The St. Cloud State University men's basketball team knew the odds were stacked against it heading into the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) / Sanford Health Tournament Quarterfinal against Wayne State College. The Huskies squeaked into the tournament on the final day of the regular season as the North Division four-seed, while the Wildcats won the rugged South Division to clinch the No. 1 seed. St. Cloud State also needed to play like there was no tomorrow since there wasn't if the team lost.
The Huskies played their hearts out Thursday evening but fell to top-ranked Wayne State College 73-70 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
St. Cloud State's offense was slow out of the gate, as the Huskies managed just two points in the opening two minutes of play. Wayne State, on the other hand, was offensively on fire, as they went 5-5 to open the game and held a 12-2 advantage mere moments into regulation. St. Cloud State, though, slowly but surely chipped away at the Wildcats lead, eventually cutting it to 12-8 at the first media timeout thanks to back-to-back threes from Josh Tomasi (Melbourne, Australia / Western Colorado) and Ryan Bagley (Pocatello, Idaho / Burley).
Tomasi was a force unto himself in the opening half, as he tied his season high in points in just the first 20 minutes of play. The freshman went on a tear, pulling St. Cloud State within four at the half by scoring 16 points and tallying five rebounds. The Wildcats, though, managed to put in a last second basket, pulling ahead 38-32 at the end of the first half.
Wayne State managed to do something no other team has done all season: hold Anthony Roberts (Chicago, Ill. / Oak Park) to single digit points in the first half. The sophomore scored just two points in the opening 20 minutes of play but made his presence known in other areas, forcing a handful of Wildcat turnovers and setting up a multitude of scoring plays for the Huskies. However, he wasn't kept so quiet in the second, as Roberts block on a Wildcat dunk sparked something in St. Cloud State. The team went 4-5 from the floor in the opening five minutes of the second half to take a 47-44 lead with 14:01 remaining in regulation.
The Huskies maintained their lead for the next seven minutes, but Wayne State eventually took over at the eight minute mark on a long three-pointer from the top of the arc. Matt Willert (Buffalo, Minn. / Buffalo) tied things up just seconds later with a three from the left corner, making it 60-60 with 7:07 remaining in the game.
Tension in the Sanford Pentagon was palpable for the remaining seven minutes of play, even as the Wildcats seemingly pulled ahead 68-64. Willert, again, provided some late game heroics, draining yet another three from the left corner to pull St. Cloud State within one with 2:41 remaining in regulation.
In the end, the youthful Huskies just ran out of gas, as Bagley's last second heve fell short, and Wayne State won the game by a final score of 73-70. Tomasi ended as the team's leading scorer, as he tallied a career-high 21 points with seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Caleb Donaldson (Bloomington, Ill. / Bloomington), Robets and Bagley all scored in double-digits in the loss, scoring 17, 12 and 10 points respectively. Bagley additionally tallied a double-double thanks to his 10 point, 10 rebound performance.
With the loss, the Huskies season comes to an end, as they close 2020-21 with a 8-9 overall record and a 6-6 mark in NSIC play.
