MANKATO, Minn. – Winona State University suffered its third straight setback on Friday night as Minnesota State Mankato used a big second half to pull away with a 78-62 victory on its home court. The Mavericks dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Warriors by a 41-28 margin, which limited WSU's second-chance opportunities on a night they shot just 38 percent from the field.

Winona State led after the opening tip on a three-pointer by Devin Whitelow, but the home team quickly erased what turned into a 5-0 deficit to eventually take a double-digit lead midway through the first half. Mankato's lead grew to as many as 17 points with 5:04 remaining in the period before the Warriors put together a run.

A jump shot by Caleb Wagner sparked a 15-3 spurt over the final four minutes of the first half to cut the Mankato advantage to 35-30 at the break. Kevion Taylor, Alec Rosner and Nick Klug each knocked down shots from beyond the arc before halftime to dig into the Maverick lead.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Wagner and Mason Domask early in the second half made it a 40-36 game, but the four-point spread was as close as the Warriors would get for the remainder of the evening. The Mavericks shot 60 percent from the field, including a 5-9 effort from downtown in the second half.

The Warriors found themselves trialing by double digits again midway through the second half before putting together one final run at the home team. Down by 12 with 6:11 left on the clock, WSU made it a six-point game less than two minutes later, but Mankato would not let up offensively.

Winona State falls to 4-5 (1-3 NSIC) with the loss while Minnesota State (7-2, 4-0 NSIC) remains undefeated in conference play.

The Warriors return to the hardwood on Saturday with a 5:30 p.m. tipoff scheduled at Concordia, St. Paul.