MARSHALL, Minn. – The Winona State University men's basketball team mounted a furious comeback bid Saturday night, but Southwest Minnesota State University was able to prevail on its home court with a 79-76 victory.
Five Warriors scored in double digits in defeat, marking the fourth such well-balanced scoring effort by WSU. Tommy Gathje led the way with 16 points for Winona.
NSIC Preseason Player of the Year selection, Ryan Bruggeman led all players with 24 points for the Mustangs.
The Warriors led at halftime for the second straight night of the road trip, holding a 39-35 lead at the break. Gathje poured in 11 of his points in the first half. WSU shot 62 percent from beyond the arc in the first half and Gathje was perfect in three three-point attempts.
Winona continued to shoot the ball well in the second half, but had trouble slowing the high-powered Mustang offense. The teams traded baskets over the first 10 minutes of the second half until SMSU went in front for good at the 9:17 mark, 58-56.
In the blink of an eye the Warriors then found themselves trailing 66-58 with 7:57 left on the clock. The Mustangs led by as many as eight points with 3:51 remaining on a layup by Bruggeman, but Winona wouldn't go down without a fight as they looked to salvage a weekend split.
An 9-2 WSU run over the next two minutes made it a 77-76 contest after Mason Domask finished a three-point play at the free throw line. The Mustangs missed a three-point attempt on their ensuing possession, but corralled an offensive rebound which force Winona to foul as the final seconds ticked away.
Bruggeman knocked down both his free throw attempts to stretch the lead by to three points before Devin Whielow's last-second three-pointer fell off the mark for the Warriors.
SMSU pulled down eight offensive rebounds in the victory, but none were bigger than the rebound in the waning seconds of the game to seal the win. WSU was out-rebounded for the second straight night by a count of 31-24.
Caleb Wagner scored a season-best 12 points in Winona's losing effort while Domask and Whitelow scored 11 apiece. Corey Jeffs chipped in 10 points.
Whitelow added a season-high eight assists.
The Warriors return home next weekend for their first home conference games. Winona State opens the home stand against Minnesota State on Friday at 8 p.m. in McCown Gymnasium.
