MOORHEAD, Minn. - The Winona State University men's basketball team faced off with Minnesota State - Moorhead on Friday night in a key Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) tilt for both teams. The Warriors had a slow start shooting the basketball and saw the Dragons pull away in the second half to defeat WSU, 74-58.
Playing on the road for the 11th time this season, Winona State shot 37.9% from the floor in the game and 36.0% from behind the 3-point line. On the boards, WSU was out-rebounded by the Dragons, 37-28. Both teams saw their reserves factor heavily in the contest, with Winona State receiving 22 points from the bench and Moorhead's non-starters scoring 38. Winona State and MSU-Moorhead took a bit to get going in the contest, as the two teams were tied at 10-10 with ten minutes gone in the first half. Unfortunately for the Warriors, the Dragons warmed up as the game wore on and defended their home court to pick up the win.
Luke Martens flirted with a double-double on the day, scoring 14 points while hauling in eight rebounds and
Nick Klug did his best to spark a Winona State rally coming off the bench. Klug led the team with 16 points, going 6-of-10 en route to his season-high total. Klug was 3-of-6 from behind the arc while Martens made 5-of-9 from the floor and was 2-of-3 from the free throw line. Teammate
Devin Whitelow dished out four assists and had a steal, while both
Alec Rosner and
Connor Drew added nine points each.
Winona State saw the Dragons head to the free-throw line 19 times in the game, with MSU-Moorhead making 16; WSU was 5-of-11 at the charity stripe. For Minnesota State Moorhead, the top two Dragon performers were Gavin Baumgartner and Lorenzo McGhee with 21 and 17 points, respectively.
With the loss, WSU moves to 10-6, 6-5 in NSIC action, while MSU-Moorhead improves to 10-8, 5-4 in the NSIC.
Next up for the Warriors will be the Wolves of Northern State University as Winona State treks westward to Aberdeen, S.D. tomorrow. Winona State and NSU are set to start at 6 pm Saturday in Wachs Arena.
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
