ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Winona State University was held to three points in the final six minutes of play on Friday night of the Hillyard Tip-Off Classic as tournament host Missouri Western State University rallied late for a 65-78 win on its home court to hand the Warriors a loss in their first game of the 2018-19 season.
Winona State led 54-49 at the 6:38 mark of the second half on a layup by senior Charlie Koontz before the Warrior offense went cold down the stretch. Koontz had a big night for WSU in the paint, pulling down a career-best 12 rebounds to lead all players while adding nine points. His effort helped Winona State hold a 26-20 scoring edge in the lane.
Koontz's bucket stood as the last field goal of the night for the Warriors who were limited to just a trio of free throws before the final whistle – two of which he also accounted for.
Winona State misfired on its last 11 field goal attempts of the contest to finish with a 36.5 shooting percentage. The Griffons shot 40 percent on the night and used a 16-3 run over the final six minutes of action to claim the victory.
The first half mirrored the second as WSU trailed by double digits early before making a big run to knot the score at 31-31 at the break. The Warriors shot 41 percent over the first 20 minutes, including a 4-10 effort from beyond the arc. WSU went just 1-14 from downtown in the second half.
The tilt featured 11 lead changes and eight ties on the score board as Missouri Western built an 11-point lead at the 11:32 mark of the first half. The Griffons led by as many as 12 points in the half and maintained a 22-12 lead midway through the period until a jumper by freshman Nick Klug sparked a Warrior rally with 7:40 left in the half.
Sophomore transfer Max Miller followed with three straight points in the five-point run to make it a 22-17 game with 7:02 left on the clock. A few minutes later, Caleb Wagner and Tommy Gathje knocked down consecutive three-pointers to slash the Griffon lead to 27-25 with 3:39 remaining before the break. Wagner would go on to drill another three with one second left on the clock to tie things up as the teams went into the locker room at half.
Wagner, who missed the Warriors' first two exhibitions of the year, scored nine points and tallied four assists in 20 minutes on the court. Senior Mason Domask led Winona State with 13 points.
Missouri Western's Lavon Hightower led all scorers with 15 points as the Griffons improve to 2-1 this season.
The Warriors will face even stiffer competition on Saturday in another challenging early-season test against No. 5 Northwest Missouri State University. Tipoff against the Bearcats is slated for 5:30 p.m.
