KENOSHA, Wis. – The Winona State University men's basketball team used a strong second half to defeat Purdue Northwest for their fourth-consecutive win to begin the year.
After being down 19-32 at halftime, the Warriors outscored Purdue Northwest 46-27 in the second half to win 65-59 and complete the sweep at the UW-Parkside Tournament.
Cold shooting stymied the Warrior offense in the first half, as they shot just 23.3% from the field and went 3-19 (15.79%) from beyond the arc in the opening frame. PNW shot 37.5% from the field and knocked down four 3-pointers to jump out to a 32-19 lead at the break.
The Warriors were able to climb back into the game in the second half, shooting 47.4% from the field and going 6-14 from deep.
Winona State earned their first lead of the second half off an
Owen King three pointer with just under six minutes left in the game. After trading buckets with PNW, the Warriors used an 8-2 run to build a five-point lead with 1:27 to go.
A
Luke Martens offensive putback and a pair of
Declan Dillon free throws in the final 20 seconds secured a 64-59 victory for Winona State.
Four different Warriors scored in double figures, led by
Connor Dillon and
Connor Drew who each had 14 points. King and Martens each added 11, while four others scored to fill the WSU scorebook.
Connor Drew picked up his first career double-double with a 14-point and 10-rebound effort on the evening. King and
Declan Dillon each had four assists, while King and
Devon Fielding corralled two steals each.
The Warriors were opportunistic on the offensive glass, scoring 16 second-chance points, and only allowed five second-chance points to PNW. All in all, WSU shot 36.8 from the field and went 9-33 on three-point attempts.
Winona State will open the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference schedule in their home opener on Tuesday, Nov. 22. The Warriors will face Upper Iowa, and tip-off is scheduled for 5:30pm in McCown Gymnasium, home of WNB Financial Court.
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
