WINONA, Minn. – Winona State University and Wayne State College produced an instant classic Friday night inside McCown Gymnasium. One year removed from defeating the Warriors on their home court in overtime, the Wildcats once again prevailed triumphantly in Winona, this time in triple overtime, 102-97.
Winona State falls to (7-8, 4-5 NSIC) after suffering just its second home loss of the year as Wayne State (6-12, 3-6 NSIC) snaps a six-game losing streak to complete a season sweep of the Warriors.
Andrea Lo Biondo recorded his first double-double in a WSU uniform with a season-best 23 points and 11 rebounds in the setback while Kevion Taylor tallied his third straight double-double (fourth overall) with a team-high 28 points and 10 boards.
The Warriors entered the tilt as the second-best free throw shooting team in the country (81.6%), but struggled from the charity stripe on Friday to the tune of a 17-30 effort in the five-point loss. On the flip side, Wayne State went 21-25 from the free throw line in victory.
Neither team led by more than eight points in the wildly competitive affair. Winona State saw its 63-57 advantage at the 5:22 mark of the second half evaporate in a two-minute span as the teams entering the waning minutes deadlocked at 65-65. The Wildcats pulled in front, 68-65, only to see Caleb Wagner drill a three-pointer to knot the score again at 68-apiece with 2:24 left to play.
Wayne State's Al-Tavius Jackson hit a jumper at the 2:02 mark for another Wildcat lead which stood as the final basket for either side until Devin Whitelow's heroic tip-in layup beat the buzzer to force overtime.
In the first overtime frame, Wayne State led 83-77 with only 16 seconds remaining, but the Warriors did not back down from the challenge. Taylor buried a triple with five seconds remaining and after a Wildcat turnover, Alec Rosner found Wagner in the corner off an in-bounds pass for another three-pointer to tie the game at 83-83 and force another period.
In the second overtime, Wagner came up with another clutch trey for a 91-89 WSU lead with 20 seconds left, but it was the Wildcats turn to beat the buzzer off a miss and an offensive rebound to send the game to its third overtime.
Wayne State led wire-to-wire in the final frame. Wagner hit the back end of his one-and-one at the free throw line to make it cut the Warrior deficit to 98-96, but the Wildcats successfully sealed the game at the charity stripe. Winona State missed four free throws in the third overtime.
Wagner chipped in 23 points in the loss while Rosner dished out a team-best five assists for WSU.
After a grueling night on the court, the Warriors will look to bounce back quickly on Saturday evening when Augustana University travels to Winona. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m.
