WINONA, Minn. – It was a battle of attrition on Friday night inside McCown Gymnasium as Winona State University and Minnesota State Mankato squared off in an NSIC South tilt that saw both sides playing with limited benches. In the end, the Warriors were able to wear down the Mavericks with some hot shooting in a 78-62 triumph.
Kevion Taylor and Caleb Wagner combined for 50 points.
The win snaps a three-game skid for WSU as the Warriors improve to 4-6 (1-3 NSIC). The Mavericks fall to 3-6 (1-2 NSIC) and remain winless outside of Mankato.
It was a low-scoring first half that saw Winona State carry a 31-28 edge into the break despite shooting just 38 percent from the field. However, the Warriors found their rhythm in the second half, shooting 57 percent, including a 7-14 effort from downtown.
Taylor and Wagner scored 25 points apiece to carry the WSU offense once again. Wagner exploded for 21 second-half points while Taylor split his more evenly with 13 in the first half and 12 in the second. After going 0-2 from beyond the arc in the first half, Wagner went 3-4 over the final 20 minutes.
Winona State did all the little things right while picking up their first conference win of the season. The Warriors forced the Mavericks into 12 turnovers, while committing just three miscues of their own, and converted those Mankato mistakes into 18 points. The Warriors also drew several timely offensive fouls by the Mavericks down the stretch.
WSU was edged in the rebounding department, 26-20, but pulled down nine offensive boards which translated into 10 second-chance points.
Luke Martens hit a big three-pointer at the 12:54 mark of the second half to extend a one-point WSU lead and three minutes later struck again from downtown to pad the Warrior lead to 53-45. The Mavericks made it a one possession game again at the 8:14 mark before Wagner connected from downtown as the Warriors began to heat up toward the finish line.
Wagner went on to score the next two WSU baskets as the lead swelled to 60-49 with 5:43 remaining. Taylor then poured in five straight points to keep the Warrior advantage at double digits and the home team was able to coast to the final whistle from there with the junior forward knocking down one more triple for good measure in the final seconds of play.
Wagner shared the rebounding lead (6) with Alec Rosner as the senior guard also stuffed the stat sheet with four assists and three steals. Devin Whitelow lead the way with a season-best eight assists. In total, WSU dished out 16 assists compared to just three turnovers.
The Warriors return to action on Saturday looking for a weekend sweep against Concordia-St. Paul. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. in Winona.
