Going into the half down 34-26, the Winona State Warriors men's basketball team outscore Minnesota State 29-16 over the next 10 minutes to take a 55-52 lead. Winona State managed to hit some key shots and free throws down the stretch to win their third game in a row, 79-72. Caleb Wagner and Andrea Lo Biondo each had 22 points in the victory, while Devin Whitelow garnered a career high 11 rebounds.

The Warriors shot 43.1% in the win while hitting 12 threes. As a team Winona State turned the ball over just four times, second only this season to their previous matchup against the Mavericks where they turned it over just three times.

With the win the Warriors clinch a home playoff game and move to 17-11 (14-8 NSIC) while the Mavericks drop to 14-14 (12-10) and will host Bemidji State in the opening round of the NSIC tournament.

Winona State struggled in the first half, only hitting three shots from behind the arc while shooting just 28% overall. They second half was the polar opposite, however, as Winona State hit nine threes to come back on the Mavericks.

 Andrea Lo Biondo got the second half started off with a three, followed by an Alec Rosner Layup. After going back and forth for the next few minutes, the Warriors cut the Maverick lead to two off of three pointers by Kevion Taylor and Lo Biondo. Caleb Wagner then took control, scoring seven of the Warriors next nine points to give the Warriors a 57-54 lead. The Mavericks were able to tie the game at 72 with 1:56 remaining, but a big steal by Devin Whitelow and some big shots by Wagner gave the Mavericks no hope of coming back.

Whitelow didn't record a turnover in the game for an NSIC leading 15th time this season.

After finishing third in the NSIC North, Winona State will host Minnesota Crookston in the first round of the NSIC Tournament. That game is set to take place on Wednesday, February 26 with tipoff being scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The winner of that game will move on to the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. on February 29 to take on the winner of Minnesota Duluth and Concordia St. Paul