DULUTH, Minn. – Isaiah Gray saved the Warriors (8-7, 5-6 NSIC) as time expired in regulation before Winona State would outscore Minnesota Duluth (4-12, 3-7 NSIC) 15-7 in the extra session to win 78-70.
Tommy Gathje had a career high 28 points on 10-15 shooting.
Gray finished the night with 22 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Riley Bambenek hit four three-pointers and scored 14 points.
Corey Jeffs led the Warriors with seven rebounds, he added seven points as well.
Winona State started the game on a 9-3 run and maintained the lead until past the midway point of the half. Minnesota Duluth was trailing 22-16 but went on an 8-0 run to take a 26-22 lead with 9:02 left in the half. The Warriors would rally late in the half, going on a 12-4 run to take a 38-35 halftime lead.
Gathje finished the first half with 16 points to lead all scorers. The Warriors shot 14-28 in the first half and hit four threes. The Bulldogs stayed close thanks to six three-point field goals.
The Warriors increased their lead to seven immediately after the start of the second half. Winona State would increase their lead to eleven at 51-40 with 11:01 left. Slowly the Bulldogs would cut into the lead and took the lead back on a three-pointer with 3:48 remaining, capping off an 18-6 run. The two teams would trade leads until the Bulldogs hit another three, this time taking a 63-61 lead with 2:05 left.
The Warriors would turn the ball over twice and miss a jumper on their next three possessions but good defense kept the score 63-61. The Bulldogs had a chance to ice the game with six seconds left but missed the front end of a one-and-one and Gray hit a contested layup as the final buzzer sounded to send the game to overtime tied at 63.
In the overtime session Gathje started the scoring with an old fashion three-point play. With the score tied at 67, Winona State scored ten straight points to win the game. Gathje had six points in the final two minutes to help WSU earn the victory. The Warriors were a perfect 4-4 from the field, including three treys in the extra frame.
Tomorrow night the Warriors head to St. Cloud to play the Huskies (12-7, 8-2 NSIC) at 6 p.m
