Winona State University hosts Bethany Lutheran College in the third of four straight home games for the Warriors inside McCown Gymnasium. Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m.
The Warriors snapped a three-game skid to open the 2019-20 campaign last Sunday with a hard-fought 62-59 victory over Michigan Tech. Winona State concludes its current homestand, and the non-conference portion of its schedule, on Tuesday before traveling to Upper Iowa next Saturday for its first NSIC tilt.
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SCOUTING BETHANY LUTHERAN: The Vikings (DIII) enter the weekend with a record of 2-2, and will play Saturday's contest as an exhibition. Bethany Lutheran is coming off an 89-62 win over Luther College on Wednesday. The Vikings went 18-8 (13-3 UMAC) last season, setting a new program record for wins and finishing second in its conference standings. Bethany is averaging 86.8 ppg while its defense allows 84.5 ppg. The Vikings have shot 47.3 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from downtown through four games this year. Four players are averaging at least 11 ppg, led by Trenton Krueger (16.3) who is shooting 55 percent from the field and averaging a double-double with 10.5 rebounds/game. Kaden Vaughn is the Vikings' sharpshooter from outside with a 54.2 percent clip.
CLUTCH: Junior Kevion Taylor leads the Warriors in scoring through four games, having done so by pouring in a bulk of his points in the second half over the last two contests. In Winona State's loss to Clarke, Taylor scored 22 of his team-high 27 points over the final 20 minutes and in the Warriors' win over Michigan Tech, he scored nine of his 15 points in the final four minutes. Taylor is averaging 15.5 ppg after also leading the Warriors in scoring a year ago (16.6).
SENIOR SZN: Shooting guard Caleb Wagner is the lone senior on Winona State's 2019-20 squad. Wagner burst onto the scene as a sophomore, earning 2017-18 All-NSIC Second Team honors, and has been a staple in the Warriors' starting lineup ever since. He's played in all 64 games dating back to his sophomore campaign and has averaged at least 12 ppg in each of the last two seasons. Wagner is currently second on the team in scoring (10.5) and has a team-best 19 assists.
HOT DISH: Junior point guard Devin Whitelow is coming off a historic 2018-19 campaign when he set an NCAA record across all three divisions for assist-to-turnover ratio (5.96). Whitelow started in all 31 games last season and ranked fifth in the NSIC in total assists (137) while coughing up just 23 turnovers. In the Warriors' win against Michigan Tech last weekend, Whitelow's shooting abilities shined brightest when he knocked down 3-4 three-point attempts for a season-best 11 points.
THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE: Junior college transfer Andrea Lo Biondo currently leads the team in rebounding (5.8 rebounds/game) in his first season at WSU. The 6-9 forward is also averaging 6.0 ppg and shown an ability to stretch the court with his shooting stroke from beyond the arc.
BENCH PRODUCTION: The Warriors have already battled some injuries early this season, and despite playing with a short bench last weekend against Michigan Tech, the WSU reserves were a huge part of the winning formula. Winona State's bench outscored Michigan Tech's in the tilt, 23-0, led by a career-high 14 points from Luke Martens. The sophomore went 6-7 from the field (1-2 downtown) while pulling down eight rebounds in 17 minutes of play.
