WINONA, Minn. -- The Winona State men's basketball team  returns to McCown Gym for the final home games of the regular season when it takes on Minnesota State at 8 p.m. Friday and Concordia-St. Paul Saturday at 6 p.m. Friday's game is sponsored by Signatures and is "Think Pink" night, while Saturday's game is sponsored by US Army.

MINNESOTA STATE at WINONA STATE FIRST LOOK:
Overall Series: Mavericks lead 87-54 ... 142nd Matchup
First meeting: Jan. 17, 1916 ... WSU won 35-6
Last meeting: Dec. 12, 2015 ... MSU won 78-77
Last WSU win over MSU: Feb. 13, 2015 ... WSU won 68-66
WSU Last Game: W, 81-60 vs Minnesota Duluth
MSU Last Game: W, 73-63 at Minot State

CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL at WINONA STATE FIRST LOOK: 
Overall Series: Warriors lead 45-5 ... 51st Matchup
First meeting: Jan. 11, 1930 ... WSU won 34-31
Last meeting: Dec. 11, 2015 ... WSU won 59-50
Last CSP win over WSU: Feb. 14, 2015 ... CSP won 74-63
WSU Last Game:  W, 81-60 vs Minnesota Duluth
CSP Last Game: W, 76-72 at U-Mary

LAST TIME OUT: The Warriors pushed their winning streak to five games with a 96-78 win over St. Cloud State and an 81-60 victory over Minnesota Duluth in McCown Gymnasium.

LAST TIME vs MSU: The Warriors battled back from down 20 points with nine minutes to play but fell one point short in a 78-77 loss on Dec. 12 in Mankato. Riley Bambenek led WSU with 20 points.

LAST TIME vs. CSP:  The Warriors survived offensive struggles, battling back to beat the Golden Bears 59-50 on December 11 in St. Paul. Kyle Bauman led all scorers with 17, while Riley Bambenek had 16.

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS: MSU is coached by Matt Margenthaler, who's in his 14th season as head coach at MSU. The Mavericks come into McCown with a 17-7 record and a 12-6 mark in NSIC play. MSU is led by Jalen Pendleton's 17.6 points per game, while Jon Fuqua scores 14.4 points, Mike Busack adds 13.7 and Joey Witthus adds 11.7 per outing. 

ABOUT THE GOLDEN BEARS: CSP is coached by Joey James, who has a 28-26 record in his second season at Concordia. The Golden Bears enter the weekend with a 9-15 record, including a 6-12 mark in NSIC play. CSP is led by Cole Olstad's 14.8 points per game, followed by Shea Mandli's 11.5, Bryndan Matthews' 10.8 and Diallo Powell's 10.3.

HOT SHOOTING: The Warriors had a pair of very efficient shooting nights last weekend in wins over SCSU and UMD. The Warriors shot a season-best 60.3 percent (38-of-63) against the Huskies and followed up with a 54.7 percent showing against UMD.

HIGH SCORING AFFAIR: The 96 points the Warriors put up in a 96-78 win against St. Cloud State last Friday marked the most points WSU has scored in a game since beating Minot State 98-76 on November 19, 2011. The Warriors have reached the 90-point plateau twice this year, as WSU opened the season with a 92-point showing against Wisconsin Lutheran.

TOUGH DEFENSE: The Warriors are among the league's best defensive teams, boasting the No. 1 scoring defense at 69.5 points per game. The Warriors also rank No. 1 in field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to hit just 41.6 percent of their shots this season. WSU also is No. 2 in 3-point defense at 33.7 percent.

WINNING STREAK: The Warriors' current five game winning streak is the current longest streak in the NSIC.  Sioux Falls is next with a four-game winning streak.

SECOND ON THE LINE: Friday night's matchup against Minnesota State is a battle for second place in the NSIC South Division. The Mavericks (12-6) currently lead the Warriors (11-7) by one game. WSU is one game ahead of  Sioux F alls and Upper Iowa (10-8) for the all-important fourth spot, as the top four teams in the division earn first-round NSIC Tournament home games.

1,000 FOR BAMBENEK: Junior Riley Bambenek used a 17-point performance at Bemidji State on Jan. 29 to become the 36th member of WSU's 1,000-point club.

A TRIPLE A GAME: It's been more than 15 years since the Warriors went scoreless from behind the 3-point arc. WSU has made a 3-point field goal in 497 consecutive games, with the last 0-for coming on Nov. 29, 2000 in a 79-57 win over Saint Mary's.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES: The Warriors have recorded four double-doubles this season, with three coming from Kyle Bauman and one from Mark Blacklock. Bauman's most recent double-double came in the road win against U-Mary, where he scored 18 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds.