DULUTH, Minn. – Winona State University won a defensive battle Friday night as the Warriors went on the road to capture their fourth consecutive victory in a 65-53 decision over Minnesota Duluth. Both teams entered the game winners of four of their last five outings, and the Warriors prevailed by forcing 16 Bulldog miscues and outscoring the home team in points off turnovers, 16-6.
Winona State 10-11 (7-8 NSIC) forced its opponent to cough up double-digit turnovers for the 16th time this season. The Warriors have now won five of their last six contests against teams with winning records as they look to improve their position in the upcoming postseason tournament with Duluth falling to 11-8 (8-7 NSIC).
The Warriors, who are beginning to settle into their identity in the second half of the season by playing stout defense and connecting from downtown, went 7-for-16 from beyond the arc in the first half of play. On the other end of the court, Duluth had seven turnovers and went 1-for-12 from three-point land, including a 0-for-10 start from deep to the night.
Kevion Taylor drained each of his first three three-point attempts in the first half en route to 11 points, and once again led WSU on the night with 15. The fast-paced first period saw just one free throw attempt before the teams combined for 15 in the second half of action.
Winona State went 5-for-5 from the charity stripe in the win – all of which came from Caleb Wagner. The sophomore scored 14 points and was joined by senior Charlie Koontz (10) in double digits. Koontz's 19 minutes off the bench were his most in nearly a month as the veteran was 2-for-3 from downtown and added a pair of rebounds to his stat line.
It was an old-fashioned three-point play by Wagner that staked the Warriors to the lead for good, 12-10, at the 15:36 mark of the first half. Koontz scored five straight to spark an 18-4 run soon after, which gave WSU a 32-16 advantage with 4:38 left in the first half. Koontz, Taylor, Mason Domask and Alec Rosner each recorded buckets from beyond the arc during the spurt.
The Bulldogs cut their deficit to single digits heading into halftime, but were unable to put up much of a fight with their leading scorer, Brandon Myer, out due to injury on Friday. The Warriors led by double digits for all but one possession in the second half. Three-pointers by Domask and Wagner gave Winona State its biggest lead of the ballgame (18) on two separate occasions late in the second frame.
Taylor also paced the Warriors on the glass with seven rebounds. Devin Whitelow dished out seven assists while scoring seven points. The sophomore point guard has recorded at least seven assists in five of the Warriors' last six games and continues to lead the country in assist/turnover ratio.
Having tied its longest win streak of the season, Winona State will aim for its fifth straight victory in another tough road test Saturday night at St. Cloud State. Tipoff against the Huskies is set for 5:30 p.m.
