MANKATO, Minn. - For the third time this season,
Alec Rosner eclipsed the 30-point mark in a game, but Minnesota State held on at the end to deal Winona State a 89 - 85 loss in the final regular season contest for both teams.
With a handful of games yet to finish across the NSIC, Rosner currently stands as the only player in the league to register three separate outings scoring 30 or more points. The junior from Appleton, Wis. scored 36 against UMary on Jan. 28, the second-highest single-game in the NSIC and dropped 34 on St. Cloud State on Jan. 15.
Saturday's regular season finale was fun for the fans, as the contest featured eight lead changes and the two teams were deadlocked on nine occasions. The Warriors enjoyed a 10-point advantage at the break, up 43-33, but Minnesota State's Quincy Anderson sparked a 9-0 run for the home team to draw the programs to within three points of each other just four minutes into the second half.
In the late stages of the game, Winona State and Minnesota State found themselves tied at 75-75 with six minutes to go and again knotted at 85 apiece with just over 90 seconds remaining. When Harrison Braudis connected on a jumper with :33 seconds left giving the Mavericks a 77-75 lead, WSU had a final possession to either tie or earn another dramatic victory, as the Warriors did most recently against USF on February 11. In this instance however, WSU was unable to get the look they needed in the final ten seconds and were forced to foul, sending Braudis to the free throw line where he successfully converted both, resulting in the 89-85 final.
Against the Mavericks, Winona State was an impressive 19-of-22 (86.4%) from the charity stripe. The 19 makes from the line set the season-best for WSU, eclipsing their 17 successful free throws against Henderson State back on November 13.
Rosner led the Warrior way, going 9-for-9 at the line and was 9-of-19 overall from the floor.
Connor Drew added 15 points to the Warrior effort, while
Luke Martens had 12 points and seven boards, the top WSU rebounding mark.
Connor Dillon had another strong day off the bench, scoring 13 points and hauling in five boards.
Devin Whitelow led the team with four assists.
As a team, Winona State (15-10, 11-9 NSIC) shot 31-of-54 (47.5%) from the floor and 10-of-22 (45.5%) from behind the arc. Minnesota State (16-9, 9-9 NSIC) was 31-of-54 in the game.
Despite the setback, Winona State advances to the NSIC postseason tournament, the bracket for which will be announced later this evening.
In a regular season full of milestones, including
Devin Whitelow 1,000th point and head coach
Todd Eisner's 100th Winona State win, the Warriors will now look to capture the first NSIC Tournament championship since 2011. WSU has won five NSIC tournament championships in program history.
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.
