WINONA, Minn. – Winona State University made a furious comeback on Saturday night inside McCown Gymnasium. However, it was St. Cloud State that hit the most dramatic shot to tie the game at the end of regulation before the Huskies went on to claim a 90-83 victory in overtime.
Of the Warriors' four losses over their last 13 games, three have been overtime defeats.
WSU falls to 12-10 (9-7 NSIC) while St. Cloud improves to 12-10 (9-7 NSIC) after completing a weekend road sweep.
The Huskies' win over the Warriors stands as the first of its kind in Winona since the 2009 NSIC Tournament.
Less than 24 hours removed from toppling Minnesota Duluth with the help of a season-high 16 three-pointers made, the Warriors were ice cold from downtown on Saturday in the opening half, missing their first seven attempts and going just 2-10 in the frame.
It was only a matter of time though for Winona State as the Warriors had connected on at least 10 triples in 20 of their 21 games entering the contest. True to form, WSU found its deep stroke in the second frame, going 8-18, including five of its final 10 attempts in regulation.
The Huskies led by 10 at the midway point of the second half, only to see the Warriors knot the score at 68-68 on a three-pointer by Andrea Lo Biondo at the 4:46 mark. Lo Biondo struck again from three-point range with 1:09 remaining to once again tie the game at 73-apiece.
Devin Whitelow followed with a go-ahead three-pointer from the corner with 24 seconds remaining which looked to be the game-winning basket. But, the Huskies had other plans. St. Cloud's Illya Tyrtyshinik shook free his defender on the final possession of regulation to beat the buzzer and drill a triple to send the affair into overtime.
After leading for just 59 seconds in regulation, Caleb Wagner gave Winona State its first and only lead over the extra frame with a three-pointer of his own. The Huskies quickly erased their two-point deficit on the ensuing possession and would go on to seal their victory at the free throw line.
St. Cloud outscored WSU in the paint, 50-42, as the Warriors could not find an answer to the Huskies' slashing abilities, which also included 18 fastbreak points. The road team also got to the free throw line 22 times compared to just seven attempts from the charity stripe for WSU.
Wagner led a quartet of Warriors scoring in double figures with 19 while pulling down seven rebounds. Kevion Taylor scored 14 points to go along with a team-best eight boards. Whitelow chipped in a season-high 15 points and dished out six assists in the setback.
Winona State returns to the road next weekend for its final matchups against the NSIC North with games at Minot State University and UMary.