WAYNE (Wayne State Athletics) -  Redshirt junior guard Aurrion Harris scored 19 of his career-high 26 points in the second half to fuel a comeback win over Minnesota Duluth 77-70 Friday evening in Northern Sun Conference men's basketball played at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  The Wildcats snapped a seven-game losing streak to UMD dating back to January 27, 2018 with the win, improving to 13-8 and 9-6 in the NSIC South while the North Division leading Bulldogs drop to 12-9 and 8-7 in conference play.
            Wayne State trailed for more than 15 minutes of the opening half but used a late first half scoring run to take a 34-30 lead at intermission.
            Minnesota Duluth took their biggest lead of the first half at 20-12 with 8:57 to play in the half.  WSC still trailed by four at 27-23 then scored nine straight points over the next 3:35 and took a 32-27 lead on a pair of Eldon Turner free throws with 53 seconds left before halftime as the 'Cats closed the half with a 34-30 lead.
            The Wildcats led the early part of the second half and held a seven-point advantage at 39-32 on a Matt Noll three-point play with 18:46 to play in the game.
            But Minnesota Duluth used torrid shooting to turn a seven-point deficit into a seven-point lead at 59-52 with 8:54 remaining.
            Wayne State, fueled by a pair of dunks to get the Wildcat crowd into the game, went on a 14-0 run in the next 3:05 and grabbed a 66-59 lead on two Ben Kerkhoff free throws at the 5:49 mark.
            After the 'Cats took a nine-point lead at 71-62, UMD hit a pair of treys and a driving layup to cut the WSC lead to three at 73-70 with 56 seconds left.
            But Noll made a layup on the next possession with the shot clock down to one second for a 75-70 lead and two Kai Smith free throws with 21 seconds to go sealed the 77-70 victory.
            Harris paced Wayne State with his career-high 26 points on 10 of 14 shooting from the field and 4-4 at the free throw line.  His previous career-high was 24 vs. Northern State on January 9th.  Noll added 19 points with Andrew Stokes scoring 12.
            Wayne State shot 55.1 percent from the field making 27 of 49 shots.  The 'Cats were just 4 of 15 behind the arc but hit 19 of 21 free throws for 90.5 percent.
            Caleb Siwek scored 19 points for Minnesota Duluth with Kole Hanson adding 13.
            UMD was 27-51 shooting for 52.9 percent, including 12 of 24 from 3-point range.  The Bulldogs were 4 of 8 at the line.
            WSC held a 27-21 advantage in rebounding with Harris and Stokes each grabbing nine boards for the 'Cats.  Stokes and JJ Ferrin had four assists while Turner and Stokes recorded three steals apiece.
            WSC is at home again Saturday when Bemidji State visits Rice Auditorium for a 5:30 p.m. contest.