Huskies Rally to Force OT, Beat Wildcats 71-63 to Complete Comeback

Saturday, January 4

St. Cloud, MN

5:30 P.M.

St. Cloud State

9-7,5-3NSIC

Wayne State

8-7,2-7NSIC

OT 1

Wayne St. (NE)

St. Cloud St.

Huskies Rally to Force OT, Beat Wildcats 71-63 to Complete Comeback

1/5/2025 12:13:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

St. Cloud State wins second OT game of the year

St. Cloud, Minn.- St. Cloud State Men's Basketball (9-7, 5-3 NSIC) rallied in the second half to force overtime as they ultimately beat Wayne State 71-63 Saturday evening. The Huskies got off to a slow offensive start as they trailed 15-6 through the first 10 minutes of the game. Wayne State expanded that lead to double-digits with 6:42 left in the half as they led 21-11. SCSU started to find some offensive groove as they scored 10 points to end the half, but still found themselves trailing 28-21 at halftime. The Huskies shot 35% from the field while going 1/7 from beyond the arc in the first half. Through the first 10 minutes of the second half, Wayne State would lead by 7+ points before Kynan Philippe started to spark a comeback. Philippe cashed a three at the 10:50 mark of the second half and then finished a transition layup after Lucas Morgan nabbed a steal and then found an open Philippe on the fast break. With their lead now only four-points, Wayne State called a timeout to halt the momentum. The Huskies produced the first bucket out of the timeout as Wyatt Hawks cashed a mid-range jumper to put SCSU within two-points. WSC responded with a three, but St. Cloud State responded to their response with back-to-back three-pointers by Nate Dahl and Luke Winkel to take their first lead of the game at the 7:07 mark of the second half. The teams battled late into the game as a layup by Hawks gave St. Cloud State a 52-47 lead with 2:07 remaining. The Wildcats finished their own layup on the ensuing possession to cut the deficit down to three points. WSC ramped up their defensive pressure late as they forced Winkel into a turnover in the backcourt. What looked like an open layup was erased by Morgan who came up with a clutch block with 39 seconds left. Nate Dahl picked up the rebound and would be fouled. Dahl, shooting one and one, missed the free throw as Wayne State nailed a jumper to now only trail by one point with the score set at 52-51. With the Huskies having the ball, the Wildcats again fouled, this time it was Morgan who was shooting one and one. Morgan missed the free throw with 18 seconds left as WSC raced down and finished a layup to take a 53-52 lead with 12 seconds remaining. With a chance to now win the game, Dahl drove into the lane and would have his layup attempt blocked. Philippe came away with a huge offensive rebound and went to put it back up but was fouled with three seconds left. Philippe missed his first attempt but tied the game at 53 by making the second shot. The Wildcats missed a buzzer beating three-pointer as the game would head into overtime. WSC drew first blood in extra time as they cashed a three-pointer. On the ensuing offensive possession, Hawks found Morgan down in the paint who had freed himself with a cut and finished a layup while getting fouled. Morgan did not convert the three-point play, but grabbed a defensive rebound after the Huskies forced a miss. Morgan then swung the ball to Philippe on the offensive possession as he splashed a three to give St. Cloud State a 58-56 lead with 3:44 left in overtime. The Wildcats would knock in their own three to retake the lead, but it was Philippe again who knocked down a big three to take the lead right back. With a 61-59 lead with 2:23 remaining, the Huskies picked up their defense by holding WSC to one field goal in the final minutes of overtime. The Huskies would ultimately put the game away at the free throw line in that time frame as they knocked in 10 of their final 12 free throw attempts. St. Cloud State would go on to win 71-63 in overtime for their ninth win of the season.

Top Huskies

Nate Dahl paced the Huskies in scoring and nearly tallied a double-double with 18 points and eight rebounds. Dahl also nabbed three steals while making three of his five three-point attempts. He has scored 18+ points in three straight games while making 2+ threes in all three games.
Kynan Philippe tied his career-high in scoring as he tallied 15 points while grabbing a career-high eight rebounds. Philippe also cashed three threes and tallied a block and steal. This was the fifth game this season where Philippe has made 3+ three-pointers.
Wyatt Hawks stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, five rebounds and assists, and two blocks. Hawks shot 5/7 from the field. The assists were a career-high for Hawks. This was the fifth game this season where he has scored 13+ points.

Notables

St. Cloud State is now 26-6 all-time against Wayne State.
SCSU is 2-0 in overtime games this season.
The Huskies led the game in free throw makes (19-9), three point makes (8-6), rebounds (39-32), offensive rebounds (16-7), steals (11-7), assists (13-7), points off turnovers (19-17), second chance points (12-4), fast break points (8-5), and bench points (21-14).
Lucas Morgan scored four points, grabbed five rebounds, and set a season-high in stocks with 4 and steals with 3. This was Morgan's third game this season where he has tallied 3+ stocks.
Luke Winkel scored 14 points dished three assists and nabbed two steals. Winkel shot 6/8 from the free throw line on his way to scoring in double-digits for the fourth straight game. This was Winkel's 10th game of the year where he has totaled 3+ assists.
Lee Marks III totaled four points and rebounds while tallying a steal. Marks has grabbed 4+ rebounds in four consecutive games.

Up Next
St. Cloud State will be back in action on Wednesday, January 8 as they travel to Concordia-St. Paul. For all the latest on St. Cloud State Men's Basketball, stay tuned to scsuhuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.