WINONA, Minn. – Redshirt freshman Corey Jeffs put together a game to remember, knocking down seven 3-pointers and scoring a career-high 29 points to lead the Winona State men's basketball team to a much-needed 79-64 win over Sioux Falls Friday night in McCown Gym.

Jeffs, an Australian native whose family was in attendance to see him play for the first time in a Warrior uniform, went off for 22 second-half points, including a run of 17 straight points, and was 7-of-8 from long range and 11-of-15 from the field overall. Not only was the quick guard lethal from behind the arc, he added fireworks at the rim as well with a trio of high-powered dunks. His final stat line also included a pair of steals in a career-high 24 minutes of game action.

Jeffs, whose previous career high was 12 points, now has his name in the Warrior record books, sitting in a tie for sixth for 3-pointers by a Warrior in single-game history. Jamie Carrier holds the record, hitting 10 against Minnesota-Morris on Jan. 26, 2002, while four Warriors have hit eight. Jeffs joins nine Warriors to hit seven in a game, with the most recent coming on Nov. 17, 2007 when Josh Korth hit seven against Saint Mary's, but only Carter Glad in 1989 did it in just eight attempts like Jeffs.

While Jeffs lit up the scoreboard in the second half, it was Bambenek who sparked the Warriors early on with a team-best 10 first half points on 5-of-8 shooting and a trio of 3-pointers. WSU found itself down 10-5 and later 13-7, but went on a 9-2 run to take a 16-15 lead thanks to a 3-pointer from Mark Blacklock with 13:05 to play. The game would go back and forth and remain a one-possession game until back-to-back Bambenek 3-pointers and a jumper by Kyle Bauman put the Warriors on top 33-24 with 4:01 left in the half. Conrad Masberg later got in on the action, building the WSU lead to double digits at 37-26 with a layup at the 2:36 mark and went into the locker room with a 10-point, 41-31 lead.

The Warriors took advantage of Cougar miscues in the opening 20 minutes, claiming a 13-0 advantage in points off turnovers. WSU shot a hot 57 percent while the Cougars shot just 42 percent.
Winona State only heated up in the second half thanks to the Corey Jeffs show, shooting 61 percent in the final 20 minutes. Bambenek opened the half with a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 44-31, but USF was able to chip away at the Warrior lead and cut it to just 49-44 by the 10-minute media timeout.

Enter Corey Jeffs.

Jeffs came out of the break with the first of his six second-half triples to put WSU up 52-44. Another 3-pointer and a highlight-reel dunk later, he'd put the Warriors up 57-46. He then came up with a steal on the next possession and on the other end sank yet another long bomb to make it 60-46 and effectively put the game out of reach with 7:26 to play. After a 3-pointer by Sioux Falls, Jeffs wasn't done, sinking yet another 3-pointer on the next possession before one more triple made it 17 straight points for the Aussie and a 66-49 lead. Blacklock ended that streak with a layup, but Jeffs made his encore with one final 3-pointer with 5:01 to play to give the Warriors what would be their largest lead of the game, an 18-point, 71-53 advantage. Jeffs later added one more dunk to finish with his 29 points as the Warriors finished off the Cougars 79-64.

Bambenek finished the game with 15 points and a game-high four assists, while Kyle Bauman scored a season-high 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

For the game, the Warriors shot 58.5 percent, while the Cougars shot just 45.5 percent. The Cougars held a slight 31-27 rebounding edge, but committed 17 turnovers compared to just 11 for WSU.

Winona State (6-7, 3-6 NSIC) looks to build on its 6-2 home record when it welcomes Southwest Minnesota State to McCown Gymnasium Saturday at 6 p.m.