WINONA, Minn. – On a snowy Friday night inside McCown Gymnasium, the Winona State University Warrior defense turned up the heat on the NSIC's leading scorer, Harrison Cleary, limiting the senior to 17 points as the home team prevailed with an 80-66 triumph over the Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles.

Kevion Taylor and Caleb Wagner combined for 52 points as the WSU starting five accounted for the entirety of the Warriors' offensive output in the win.

Winona State (9-8, 6-5 NSIC) inches above the .500 mark once again as the Warriors have won six of their last eight contests. UMC falls to 8-9 (4-7 NSIC).

Cleary, who entered the night leading the league and ranked second in the country in scoring (28.4 ppg), and the Golden Eagles got off to a fast start on the Warriors' home court, scoring the game's first six points to force an early WSU timeout. After the break, the Warriors quickly erased their deficit to take a 7-6 lead on a dunk by Andrea Lo Biondo.

Crookston would take the lead back in a hurry though on a three-pointer by Cleary as the sharp-shooter converted on each of his first three shot attempts in the tilt before Wagner and the Warrior defense put the clamps on. Cleary closed the first half with just 11 points which didn't hold a candle to Taylor's explosive first half of 21 on 7-of-9 shooting, including four buckets from beyond the arc.

Winona State used a 12-point run beginning at the 5:52 mark to open a 43-25 advantage which saw Devin Whitelow connect from downtown and Taylor stroke a trio of baskets from three-point land. Ultimately, the Warriors would take a 50-31 lead into halftime.

Wagner continued to frustrate Cleary in the second half as the Golden Eagle went without a field goal until the 6:12 mark of the frame. On the other end of the court, Wagner scored 14 of his 27 points in the second half.

The Warriors owned a double-digit lead for the duration of the second half, stretching their advantage to as many as 22 on a triple by Lo Biondo.

Taylor led WSU with eight rebounds while Whitelow dished out seven assists. Lo Biondo (15) reached double figures in the scoring column for the fifth straight game and Whitelow's 11 points are a new season high.

The Warriors will look for a weekend sweep on Saturday when Bemidji State travels to Winona for a 5:30 p.m. affair.