WINONA, Minn. – Having dropped three straight, Winona State University knew it had a tall task ahead Saturday night in McCown Gymnasium against the 2017-18 National Runner-Up Northern State Wolves. The Warriors hung with the Wolves for a majority of the first half before Northern State shot the lights out into the break and continued its stellar offensive performance into the second half for a 79-68 win.

The Wolves opened up an early 11-5 lead on a 3-3 effort from beyond the arc and caught fire from downtown once again late in the first half to carry a 45-33 advantage into the break. With the contest tied at 25-apiece at the 7:31 mark, Northern State closed the opening period with a 5-7 effort from three-point land.

The visiting Wolves shot 61.5 percent in the first half, including an 8-12 clip from downtown, before ultimately finishing the game shooting 58 percent from the field. The Warrior defense was able to slow the Wolves' three-point shooting in the second half of action, but was unable to dig out of its 12-point halftime deficit.

Kevion Taylor and Caleb Wagner combined for 22 of Winona State's 33 points at halftime. Taylor went on to record a team-high 17 points, followed by Wager with 15. Senior Tommy Gathje chipped in 11 points.

Playing catchup after the break, the Warriors shot the ball better from beyond the arc in the second half. Taylor and Mason Domask each went 2-3 from downtown while Gathje added a triple on his way to a 3-3 effort from three-point land on the night.

Northern State scored the first six points after halftime and led by as many as 19 in the second half ahead of Gathje's final three-pointer. Trailing 55-41 at the 15:38 mark of the period, Winona State subbed out all five starters and the reserves hung with the Wolves.

The Warriors slashed the Northern State deficit down to 10 points on two occasions, but the home team was unable to cut it to a single-digit ballgame. Charlie Koontz, who has been hampered by injury, contributed nine points and four rebounds off the bench. Luke Martens also gave the Warriors some gritty minutes off the bench by pulling down four rebounds and tallying a pair of steals.

Winona State drops to 5-9 (2-6 NSIC) with the loss while the NSIC North-leading Wolves improve to 11-3 (7-1 NSIC).

The Warriors will be on the road for their next four games beginning with outings at Wayne State and Augustana University next weekend.