WINONA, Minn. – Following a tough road weekend, the Winona State Warriors (11-12, 8-11 NSIC) returned to McCown Gymnasium this weekend for their final home games of the season. The Warriors were able to best the Concordia St. Paul Golden Bears (5-21, 2-17 NSIC) 82-67, thanks to a hot night shooting from beyond the arc and Connor Flack's season high 21 points.
 
Flack started the scoring for WSU from the foul line. Riley Bambenek would continue the scoring moments later connecting from beyond the arc putting WSU up by two. The Warriors felt confident from three to begin play, as their next three baskets also came from behind the arc and their edge grew to eight. The Winona State offense went cold following their hot start from beyond the arc, as they scored four points over the next five minutes. Isaiah Gray's jumper tied the score at 19 with 8:20 remaining in the first half.
 
Both sides continued to struggle to find the bottom of the net as the scoreless streak approached the two-minute mark. The Golden Bear's Bryndan Matthews knocked down a free throw before Corey Jeffs made a three to put the Warriors back on top by two. Sam Siganos connected from beyond the arc to put Concordia ahead. Winona State scored seven of the last eight points in the final three minutes and entered half time with a 36-31 lead.
 
Wagner led with Warriors with eight points at the half and was a big contributor to WSU's advantage in bench scoring at 18-4. Wagner also led the way with two steals while Bambenek followed in scoring with six points. Winona State was outrebounded 18-12 and were outscored 14-6 in the paint. Concordia shot better overall in the first half at 45-42.9 percent. The Warriors shot well from outside, connecting on 46.7 percent of their three-pointers compared to Concordia's 33.3 percent.
 
Winona State continued to shoot well from beyond the arc, with Gray and Flack finding the bottom of the net to begin the second half. Flack continued the three-point trend a few minutes later, before Bambenek knocked down the next two attempts from beyond the arc. The three-pointers were a part of a 17-0 Warrior run spanning six minutes as the WSU advantage escalated to 24 with 11:32 remaining to play.
 
Concordia went on a brief six-point run before Gathje's triple continued scoring for Winona State. A few minutes later, Flack connected from three on back-to-back possessions pushing the edge to 22. The Golden Bears scored seven straight points with the game approaching the one-minute mark, but the final run was not enough as the Winona State Warriors began their final home weekend with an 82-67 win.
 
Quick Hitters:
WSU shot lights out in the second half, shooting 60 percent from the field and 56.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Overall Winona State had a 50.9 percent field goal percentage; while shooting 51.6 percent from three compared to Concordia's 48.9 and 30.8 percent.
CSP held the advantage in rebounds 33-23 and in points in the paint at 32-14.
Aside from their three-point shooting, WSU also found success in bench scoring winning the battle 27-16.
Flack led all scorers with 21 points on the night including shooting 4-6 from three.
Three other Warriors scored in double digits.
Bambenek had 16 points while Gray and Wagner followed with 10.
Josh Mongan led the way with six assists while Gray was second with five.
Winona State hosts Minnesota State Mankato Saturday for Senior Night; tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.