WAYNE, Neb. — The Southwest Minnesota State University mens basketball team couldn’t quite get its offense going and suffered a 72-42 loss to Wayne State College on the road Saturday in its regular-season finale.

Wayne State led the entire game, and set the tone early with getting off to a 16-1 start to open the game through the first seven minutes.

The Wildcats ultimately never lost their momentum, and hung on to their comfortable lead when the Mustangs would attempt to chip away. SMSU faced a 34-18 deficit at the halftime break.

WSC took to a 22-point lead nearly midway through the second half, 51-29, following an 11-2 run capped by a 3-pointer from JJ Ferrin. The Wildcats continued to cruise the rest of the way while the Mustangs continued to struggle with getting shots to fall.

Particularly, SMSU only shot 2 of 23 from deep along with its 36% field-goal shooting. WSC went 8 of 19 from the perimeter, and shot 50% from the field.

Mason Lund led the Mustangs with 11 points and two steals, while Micah Schlaak finished with a team-high seven rebounds to his 7 points. Caleb Schlaak also led with a pair of blocks and steals along with his 5 points.

Four Wildcats finished in double figures, led by Matt Noll and Kai Smith’s 13 points each.

SMSU finished the regular season 16-11 overall and 14-8 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play, and also tied for third in the conference with Concordia-St. Paul.

The Mustangs have earned the fourth seed in the NSIC Tournament, receiving a first-round bye into the quarterfinals.

SMSU will face the winner of No. 5 Minnesota State (19-11, 13-9 NSIC) and No. 12 Winona State (9-18, 8-14 NSIC), who play each other in the first round on Wednesday.

The Mustangs are slated to play in the quarterfinals on Sunday from the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., with a 4:30 p.m. tip off. The quarterfinal winner will play in Monday’s semifinals at the same place and time.