WINONA, Minn. – Senior Corey Jeffs torched St. Cloud State for a career-high 33 points as Winona State University overcame a 19-point first half deficit to topple the Huskies in a thrilling overtime affair in McCown Gymnasium Saturday night, 102-100.
The Warriors' deficit stood at 15 points with 7:31 remaining in the second half before a Connor Flack three-pointer, one of his three on the night, ignited a 10-point WSU run to make it a 77-72 contest. Jeffs nailed a triple with 3:58 left on the clock to cut the St. Cloud lead to 79-77, and a three-pointer by Kevion Taylor on the ensuing Warrior possession tied the game at 82.
Jeffs hit another clutch shot from three-point land with less than a minute to go, and a frantic finish ensued. Jeffs and St. Cloud's Gage Davis went shot-for-shot down the stretch as the Huskie junior drilled a three-pointer from deep beyond the arc to knot the score at 91-all in the waning seconds which sent the game to overtime.
Davis finished the night with 29 points as he cracked the scoring seal in overtime with a layup, but that stood as his lone basket of the extra period.
Tommy Gathje connected from downtown at the 3:01 mark of overtime to give Winona a 97-95 edge and the lead for good. Jeffs padded the lead to four points on the next possession, and Gathje iced the seemingly improbable victory with another three-pointer with 45 ticks left to play.
The collective Warrior team, and home crowd, held their breath as Davis heaved one final desperation shot from near half court, which narrowly missed the mark as Winona celebrated its hard-fought win.
The up-tempo game saw St. Cloud surge out to a 28-11 advantage after scoring 13-unanswered points. The Warriors misfired on their first eight three-point attempts of the game before Jeffs finally buried one with 8:00 minutes on the first half clock.
WSU proceeded to go six for its next seven from downtown into the break to cut its deficit to 44-36 at halftime. The Huskies were red hot in the first half of play, shooting 63 percent from the field.
Jeffs scored 20 of his 33 points in the second half of action as both teams traded extended scoring runs.
The Melbourne, Australia native went 6-of-7 from beyond the arc, and was perfect in five attempts from the charity stripe while pulling down five rebounds to cap his career night.
Winona's 17 made three-pointers are the most since hitting 18 from downtown on November 19, 2011. The Warriors shot a season-best 57 percent from beyond the arc against the Huskies.
Caleb Wagner chipped in 20 points and eight assists. Gathje added 15 points as all five WSU starters recorded double digits on the score sheet.
Winona State improves to 12-6 (7-5 NSIC) after winning its fourth straight and eighth in its last 10 games. St. Cloud falls to 12-6 (7-5 NSIC) with the loss. The Warriors' 12 wins already surpasses last season's total.
The Warriors open a four-game road trip next Friday at Wayne State.
