WINONA, Minn. – The Winona State men's basketball team held a 13-point halftime lead but couldn't hold on, falling 68-64 to Northern State Saturday evening in front of 1,487 fans in McCown Gym.

Corey Jeffs – earning his first start of the season in place of an injured Josh Mongan – hit an early 3-pointer to put the Warriors up 7-3, and the redshirt sophomore finished with three 3-pointers and 11 points in the game. Shortly after, Riley Bambenek converted an acrobatic 3-point play followed by another layup as WSU built a 14-5 lead thanks to separate 7-0 runs. WSU's lead would hover between three and seven points for much of the first half until three straight 3-pointers from Mark Blacklock, Jeffs and Kyle Bauman opened up a 33-22 lead, the first double-digit lead of the game. Freshman Connor Flack then scored a layup with under a minute to play to give WSU a 13-point lead headed into halftime.

The second half would tell a different tale, as the Wolves opened the half on a fierce 25-5 run that ended with a 14-0 advantage. When the run ended, NSU had erased the deficit and built a seven-point lead, 49-42, with 12:12 to play. WSU, however, used a 6-0 run to answer and bring it back to a one-point game at 49-48.

Trailing by five with 5:48 to play, Blacklock hit a pair of free throws, Bauman hit a jumper and Jeffs recorded a dunk with 4:26 left to give WSU its first lead since NSU's big run. Blacklock made it an 8-0 run and a three point WSU lead with a layup, but NSU's Skye Warwick quickly responded with a 3-pointer to tie it at 60-60 with three minutes remaining. A Bauman free throw would put WSU back up 61-60, but the Wolves were able to close it out with layups and free throws to preserve the 68-64 win.

Despite the loss, the Warriors shot better than NSU from the field, holding a 42.9-39.6 edge. WSU outrebounded NSU 36-30 and committed one fewer turnover (10-9), while each team dished out 10 assists.

Bauman – who finished with his second double-double of the season – scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Bambenek led the Warriors with 12 points, while Jeffs and Blacklock each added 11.

Winona State (5-6, 4-3 NSIC) hosts No. 4 MSU Moorhead Sunday for a 4 p.m. tipoff inside McCown Gymnasium.