LIBERTY, Mo. -- The William Jewell College men's basketball team fended off the second half advances of Wayne State College and held on to win, 90-87, in a high-scoring non-conference matchup Saturday afternoon in the Mabee Center.

Wayne State College converted their first six attempts from the field, but the Cardinals battled back, taking the lead for good on two free throws from Javier De La Blanca near the five minute mark. The Cardinals then rode a 5-0 run into the half to take a 43-34 lead at the break.

The Wildcats of Wayne State kept the pressure on the Cardinals throughout the second half, cutting the lead to two with 30 seconds left to play. However, the Cardinals hung on for the win, as Matt Lassen and Darius Tomlin converted eight of their last nine free throws to preserve the lead.

The Cardinals were led in scoring by De La Blanca, who put in 22 points in his 28 minutes of play. Lassen and Tomlin each had strong showings, scoring 18 and 17, respectively.

Both teams demonstrated prolific offenses in this high scoring contest, as Jewell would shoot 53% from the field, narrowly edging Wayne State's 52% field goal percentage. The Cardinals were also aided by their high shooting percentages from both behind the three point line and from the free throw line, shooting 54 percent from three and 79 percent from the charity stripe.

Wayne State was led in scoring by Matt Thomas, who put in 29 points for the Wildcats. Austin Esters and Jordan Corneluis each had 12 points on the afternoon.

The win moves the Cardinals to 2-2 on the year, while Wayne State dropped to 1-4.

The Cardinals will return to action at 7:30 p.m. next Thursday, when they travel to Quincy, Ill., to take on conference foe Quincy University in their first Great Lakes Valley Conference game of the year.