WINONA, Minn. – The Winona State University men's basketball team closes its four-game homestand on Tuesday night against Viterbo University. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
The tilt will also signal the end of the Warriors' non-conference schedule with Winona State slated to begin NSIC action after Thanksgiving break at Upper Iowa on Saturday. The Warriors' first three NSIC games will be played on the road before returning home to McCown Gymnasium for a pair of games on December 13-14.
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SCOUTING VITERBO: The V-Hawks (3-6) will be playing Tuesday's contest as an exhibition. Viterbo went 12-17 (5-9 NSAA) a year ago and features a young team in 2019-20 with 16 underclassmen compared to just five juniors/seniors. Guard Tyree Young, one of two seniors, leads the V-Hawks in scoring (16.2 ppg) while shooting 51 percent from the field. Noah Fredrickson (14.7 ppg) and Robert Cunitz (11.6) are both threats from beyond the arc, shooting better than 42 percent from downtown. Young also has a team-high 6.7 rebounds/game. Collectively, Viterbo is shooting 45 percent from the field and 35 percent from three-point range. The V-Hawks are averaging 72.8 ppg and allowing 69.7 ppg to their opponents. The Warriors have won eight straight against Viterbo, including an 83-66 win last year. Winona State's average margin of victory over the last five meetings has been 27.8 points. WSU head coach Todd Eisner began his coaching career at Viterbo where he guided the V-Hawks to one regular season title and one postseason crown, capping his tenure with a trip to the Elite Eight of the NAIA DII National Tournament in 1999.
TRENDING UPWARD: After an 0-3 start where the Warriors collectively shot 31.5 percent from the field (26.8% downtown), Winona State has drastically improved while rattling off back-to-back victories. Over their last two games, the Warriors have shot 43 percent from the field and 43.6 percent from beyond the arc. Winona State uncorked 75 total shots in Saturday's high-scoring affair while posting season highs in shooting percentage (45.3%) and three-point shooting (44%).
HAVE A DAY: Shooting guard Caleb Wagner had a career day in the Warriors' 96-83 victory over Bethany Lutheran on Saturday – netting a career-high 35 points. Winona State's lone senior carried the load in a back-and-forth shootout, scoring 28 of those 35 points in the second half. Wagner shot 14-21 from the field and 4-6 from downtown while also pulling down seven rebounds. Wagner is currently second on the team in both scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding (5.6) while dishing out a team-best 19 assists on the season. In 2017-18, Wagner was named to the All-NSIC Second Team.
WORKHORSE: Junior Kevion Taylor continues to be one of the Warriors' leading scorer's night-in and night-out. Taylor, a 2018-19 All-NSIC Second Team recipient, led Winona State in scoring a year ago (16.6 ppg) and is doing so again this season (17.6). Taylor scored at least 20 points in a game nine times last year, and has poured in at least 25 points in two of his last three contests. He played in all 31 games (30 starts) last season while leading the team in minutes (30.6) and has also logged a team-high 33.6 minutes/game this year.
SIXTH MAN: Sophomore Luke Martens has established himself as a valuable sixth man off the Winona State bench, appearing in all five games to date and logging 18.2 minutes/game. Martens recorded a career-high 14 points in 17 minutes of action in the Warriors' win over Michigan Tech and is averaging 7.2 points/game.
