WINONA, Minn. - The Winona State men's basketball team dropped their home opener Friday night to the visiting Wildcats of Wayne State College. Owen King's half court heave with one second left missed wide left and the Wildcats walked out of McCown with a 58-57 victory. Senior Kevion Taylor led the way for the Warrior with 22 points on the night.

The Warriors (3-3 / 1-2 NSIC) jumped on the Wildcats (5-4 / 5-2 NSIC) early, going up 16-7 on Dalante Peyton's three-pointer six minutes into the contest. Wayne State battled back, though, outscoring the Warriors 18-4 over a six-minute span to take a 25-20 lead with 7:32 left in the half. After a four-minute scoring drought from both teams, an Owen King dunk and a Kevion Taylor and-1 tied the game up at 25 all. Each team would score four points over the final few minutes of the half to go into the break tied at 29-29. 

The second half was a tight one all the way, with four lead changes and five ties in the period. Senior Andrea Lo Biondo got the half started with a deep shot from behind the arc to give the Warriors a 32-29 lead right out of the gate. The teams went back and forth after that, with Kevion Taylor, Owen King, and Luke Martens all hitting shots to keep the game close. The Warrior's last lead of the game came with 4:37 to go in the game when Devin Whitelow hit a free throw to put WSU up 52-51. Unfortunately for the Warriors, they would not hit a field goal until Whitelow made a layup with two seconds left to cut the lead to one. After a quick foul, Wayne State missed their free throw. But with only 1.8 seconds left on the clock, all King could do was heave up a shot from beyond half court. 

Turnovers cost the Warriors in the game, as Wayne State scored 14 points off Winona's 17 turnovers. On the flipside, Winona State scored just nine points off of nine Wayne State turnovers. Along with turnovers, the Warriors only managed to get seven points out of their bench, compared to 25 for the Wildcats. 

The Warriors shot well for the game (.465) but couldn't hit from behind the arc, going just 4-18 (.222) from three. Wayne State shot .393 from the floor and .318 from behind the arc. 

Winona State was led in points by Taylor with 22, followed by King with 10 and Lo Biondo with 8. Taylor also led the team in rebounding (9).

A positive from this matchup was the Warrior's stout defense on reigning three-time NSIC Player of the Week Jordan Janssen, who managed to score only 11 points on 4-13 shooting. 

The Warriors and Wilcats will face off again tomorrow in McCown with tipoff set for 2 p.m.

NSIC Attendance Policies: Venue Spectator Attendance Policies
 

For the most up to date news in Warrior Athletics, please visit: www.WINONASTATEWARRIORS.com and @WinonaStateATH.

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About Winona State University Athletics: 

The Winona State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, as an integral part of the educational mission of the institution, is committed to offering opportunities to experience academic and athletic excellence for our student-athletes through two simple words: Graduate Champions.  

Fourteen Warrior programs compete at the NCAA Division II level within the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).  Winona State University competes as an affiliate member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) in the sport of women's gymnastics.

Media Contact: Pete Watkins, Director of Athletic Communications | Ph: 507.457.5577 | Email: pwatkins@winona.edu