WINONA, Minn. – The Winona State men's basketball team hung with No. 2 Augustana but the Vikings proved to be too much to handle in a 75-62 loss Friday night in front of a season-high 1,730 fans in McCown Gymnasium.
Kyle Bauman tied a career-high 25 points on 12-of-17 shooting to lead all scorers along with six rebounds.
The Warriors shot the ball well offensively, hitting an even 50 percent of its looks from the field (28-of-56) while holding the Vikings to 42 percent (27-of-64). WSU also outrebounded Augustana by a 40-30 margin.
But Winona State turned over the ball 19 times compared to just seven Viking miscues which resulted in a 21-2 edge in points off turnovers.
A quick start helped the Warriors jump out to a quick 4-0 lead with baskets from Bauman and Mark Blacklock before a 3-pointer from Riley Bambenek opened up a 7-3 lead just over two minutes into the game. The Warriors clung to the lead until a Jordan Spencer layup gave the Vikings a 10-9 lead. It's the last time the Warriors would lead, as a 13-4 Augie run helped take a 29-19 lead with 1:59 to play in the first half. An emphatic dunk and an ensuing layup from Bauman helped keep the deficit at eight late in the half, but a 3-pointer by the Vikings' Matt Brazendale halted WSU's momentum and brought the lead to 11, 34-23, at halftime.
A 3-pointer from Augie's Daniel Jansen upped the lead to 14 to open the second half but a layup from Mark Blacklock four minutes later got the lead back down to eight at 39-31 and the Warriors later cut a 15-point lead back to single digits once again as Charlie Koontz made a layup to cut it to 53-44. Riley Bambenek hit a 3-pointer on the next possession to cap off a 9-0 run that cut the lead to just six, but but Augie quickly got it back up to 11 with five straight points and ended the Warrior threat as Augustana came away with the 75-62 win.
Bambenek finished with eight points with six rebounds, six assists, a block and a steal.
Winona State (7-10, 6-7 NSIC) returns to action Saturday when it hosts Wayne State at 6 p.m. in McCown Gym.
