BISMARCK, N.D. – Winona State University held off a late charge by the University of Mary on Saturday night for a 71-62 victory, completing a sweep of the weekend road trip. Tommy Gathje led the Warriors with 18 points.
Winona State (15-7, 10-6 NSIC) continues to surge into the final month of the regular season having won 11 of its last 14 games. WSU improves to 5-5 away from home after tallying its first road sweep of the year.
The Warriors weren't as crisp from three-point range on Saturday night as Friday's performance, shooting 37 percent, but improved to 9-3 when launching at least 25 shots from downtown as they continue to shoot at a high volume from beyond the arc.
Gathje knocked down a pair of buckets from long range in the opening minutes of the game, erasing Mary's 3-0 lead which stood as the home team's only advantage of the night.
A layup by Corey Jeffs at the 12:18 mark of the first half spark a 14-1 Warrior run which Charlie Koontz capped in the lane to give Winona a 31-14 lead with 7:33 left before halftime. The Marauders closed the half on a 10-0 run of their own but Winona was able to carry a comfortable 33-26 edge into break.
Three-pointers by Devin Whitelow and Jeffs to open the second half pushed the Warrior lead back to double-digits, but the Marauders wouldn't go down without a fight on their home court.
Back-to-back baskets from downtown by Gathje and Mason Domask emphasized a 10-point Winona run as the Warrior lead swelled to 19 points with 8:40 remaining in the contest. Again, the Marauders chipped away at their deficit.
Mary's Keith Hunter led all scorers with 30 points in the game and made it a 66-58 contest with a three-pointer as the clock ticked under two minutes. Gathje continued his big outing with a layup on the other end of the court and Winona sealed its road triumph at the free throw line.
Kevion Taylor and Jeffs combined for 25 points and 10 rebounds for Winona.
Winona forced Mary into 16 turnovers and converted those miscues into 23 points. WSU pulled down 10 offensive rebounds for the second straight night of the road trip.
The Warriors return home next weekend for a pair of games beginning with Minnesota Moorhead on Friday night at 8 p.m. in McCown Gymnasium. Winona then hosts No. 12 Northern State on Saturday evening.
