ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Winona State University men's basketball team tipped off its 2017-18 season on Friday afternoon with a 71-67 overtime win at Missouri Western University in the Hillyard Classic.

Tommy Gathje's 14 points tied for the team lead, and none were bigger than his three-pointer in overtime which proved to be the game-winning shot.

Mason Domask matched Gathje's scoring output with a career-best 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Scoring was at a premium in the first half of the contest as the teams went into the locker room deadlocked at 27-27. The Warriors were one of the best defensive teams in the NSIC a year ago and continued that trend out of the gate in their first test of the new season.

The Griffons' largest lead of the night came late in the first half on a dunk by Lavon Hightower with 2:26 remaining before halftime. Back-to-back threes by Corey Jeffs and Gathje quickly squashed the home team's momentum and set the tone for the back-and-forth second half.

The largest lead by either side in the second half came on yet another three-point bucket by Gathje at the 7:34 mark to give the Warriors a 50-46 advantage.

A three-pointer by Connor Flack in the waning minutes of regulation put WSU back in front, 60-58, before Missouri Western answered with four straight points, including a basket with 10 seconds remaining to take a 62-60 lead.

Flack came up big again for Winona with a slashing layup in the final seconds to knot the score and send the contest to overtime where the Warriors emerged victorious.

Flack and Gathje combined for seven of the Warriors' nine points in OT with the latter putting WSU in front for good with his long-range bucket.

WSU shot 40 percent (10-25) from downtown on the night while limited the Griffons to a 5-of-23 effort.

Jeffs chipped in 10 points and led Winona with six rebounds.

The Warriors (1-0) conclude their weekend road trip against Washburn University on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m.