MOORHEAD, Minn. - The Winona State University men's basketball team travels to Moorhead, Minnesota for the first of two key contests in a NSIC road trip. 

Head coach Todd Eisner and his team will look to continue their momentum against Minnesota State - Moorhead as WSU is coming off their best offensive outing of the year, having beaten St. Cloud State last Saturday, Jan. 15 by a 94-72 scoreline.  Alec Rosner lit up the scoreboard for 34 points in the game, the best individual scoring effort of the Warrior campaign so far in 2021-22. 

Winona State (10-5, 6-4 NSIC) will take on the MSU-Moorhead Dragons (9-8, 4-4 NSIC) as both teams look to position themselves in the NSIC postseason picture.  

Read on for more regarding the Winona State men's basketball team as they travel to MSU-Moorhead on Friday, January 21. 

Who: Winona State University vs Minnesota State Moorhead

What: The Warriors (10-5, 6-4 NSIC) will face the Dragons (9-8, 4-4 NSIC) 

When: Friday, January 21 with a.7:30pm CST start.

Where: Alex Nemzek Hall on the campus of Minnesota State University Moorhead

---

Winona State Warriors:

The Warriors will travel to Moorhead, Minn., and take on MSUM on Friday, Jan. 21 and then to Aberdeen, S.D. to take on Northern State on Saturday, Jan. 22.  So far this season, WSU is 6-3 away from McCown and has won two straight road games.

Winona State and MSU Moorhead faced off earlier this season at the MSUM Thanksgiving Classic in Moorhead, Minn. on Nov. 26. The Dragons handed the Warriors a 76-67 defeat in a game where WSU led by seven at the break.

Alec Rosner (WSU, 34), Sam Masten (NSU, 34 & 30), Trever Kaiser (MSUM, 32), Gavin Baumgartner (MSUM, 32), and Jordan Belka (NSU, 30) have all shown their potential to score at a high level this season, and all will be featured this weekend.

Heading into the weekend, Winona State is in fourth in the NSIC South standings with a 6-4 NSIC record. Six of the eight NSIC South teams are within three games of each other, ranging from 7-2 to 4-5.

Alec Rosner has upped his career-high three times this season, scoring 28 points vs. Pitt. State, then 29 points vs. Minnesota Crookston, and most recently 34 points on 13-20 (5-8 3pt) shooting in a win over St. Cloud State.

Last weekend, WSU fell to #5 Minnesota Duluth 71-86 on Friday but bounced back for a 94-72 victory over St. Cloud State on Saturday.

In the win over SCSU, Alec Rosner paced all scorers with a career-high 34 points. That mark is the third highest within the NSIC this season.

WSU's defense has been a focus all year and they hold the third-best defense in the NSIC, allowing just 68.3 points/game to their opponents. Pairing that with scoring 73.4 points/game themselves, the Warriors have a 5.1 scoring margin.

On offense, Winona State is averaging 8.7 3-pointers made per game, which is the fifth most in the NSIC.

Individually, Rosner leads the pack with 17.4 points/game which is ninth in the league. Devin Whitelow is the other Warrior to average double figures with 11.3 points/game.

Luke Martens is averaging 8.1 rebounds each game, good for sixth in the NSIC.

Whitelow is in the top-10 within the conference in assists (3.8/game) and assist/turnover ratio (2.0).

After the Warriors take on MSU Moorhead on Friday, Jan. 21 for a 7:30 meeting  they tip-off at Northern State at 6:00pm on Saturday, Jan. 22

What's the deal with the Dragons:

The Dragons are 9-8 overall and 4-4 in the NSIC heading into the weekend, which has them in a tie for second within the NSIC North.

They have not played since a Jan. 2nd loss to Northern State 80-83 in overtime, having their last two weekends of games canceled.

MSUM features the sixth-highest scoring offense in the NSIC, averaging 80.4 points/game. They allow 74.1 points/game to their opponents for a scoring margin of 6.3.

The Dragons shoot the three at the fourth-best clip in the league, knocking down 37.7% off all 3-point attempts.

MSU Moorhead's offense features evenly spread scoring, led by Gavin Baumgartner at 12.2 points/game. Lorenzo McGhee and Bryce Irsfeld average 10.6 points per game each. Six other dragons average at least five points/game.

Baumgartner paces the squad with 3.3 assists/game and 30.5 minutes/game.

Dane Zimmer has averaged 7.8 boards per game to go along with his 9.9 points/game.

Jacob Beeninga has been a ball-hawk this season, averaging 1.5 steals/game, the seventh most in the NSIC.

The Dragons will host the Warriors on Friday, Jan. 21, and then will serve host to Upper Iowa on Saturday, Jan. 22.

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

---

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