WINONA, Minn. – Winona State University was on the winning end of another nail-biter on Saturday night in McCown Gymnasium, edging Sioux Falls in a photo finish, 72-70.
The Warriors, who are 8-1 at home, earned a season split with the Cougars after also defeating Southwest Minnesota State in a one-possession game on Friday night en route to an undefeated weekend in Winona.
A back-and-forth second half featured 12 ties on the scoreboard and 13 lead changes between the teams. After being absent on the stat sheet for a majority of the contest, Charlie Koontz came up big for the Warriors when it mattered most.
With the game tied at 65-65, the junior pulled down a pivotal offensive rebound and put back a layup with a defender drained all over him for his first points of the night. Koontz completed the three-point play after the foul to give the Warriors a 68-65 advantage with 3:04 remaining on the clock.
Koontz found himself at the charity stripe once again at the 1:03 mark, and knocked down one of two attempts, before the Cougars quickly went down the other end of the court to knot the score once again at 69 apiece.
A Winona foul sent Austin Slater to the free throw line with 32 seconds left on the clock, and the Cougars took a one-point lead after he hit one of two attempts. Devin Whitelow answered on the ensuing WSU possession with a pair of free throws to put the Warriors back on top, 71-70.
Sioux Falls got the ball back with 14 seconds remaining, but failed to score after a big defensive stop by Winona. Koontz returned to the line with one tick left on the clock to knock down one final free throw and seal the Warriors triumph.
Senior Corey Jeffs paced the Warriors with 15 points. Kevion Taylor followed his career performance on Friday with a 14-point effort on Saturday. Mason Domask was the third Warrior in double digits, finishing with 10 points.
Drew Guebert led all players with 31 points in the loss for Sioux Falls while knocking down a career-best seven three-pointers. The Cougars went 9-of-17 from downtown in the first half and finished the game shooting 48 percent from beyond the arc.
Winona was efficient from long range in the first half as well, knocking down 4-of-7 attempts, but went cold in the second half for a 3-for-12 clip. Despite shooting just 37 percent from downtown, WSU owned a 32-20 advantage in the paint.
The Warriors forced the Cougars into 16 turnovers which the home team converted in 22 points.
Winona State improves to 10-6 (5-5 NSIC) in victory, while Sioux Falls drops to 10-5 (6-4 NSIC).
The Warriors are home again next weekend for a pair of games against NSIC North opponents. The first of two games will be against Minnesota Duluth on Friday, January 12 at 8 p.m.
