BISMARCK, N.D. – The Winona State University men's basketball team's comeback effort came up short as the Warriors suffered a single-digit loss to the University of Mary, 67-59.
WSU scored the first two buckets of the game and held a narrow lead for much of the opening half. UMary captured their first lead of the afternoon with 2:29 left in the first half, before
Connor Dillon gave WSU the lead back from a layup in the paint on the ensuing possession.
With just over a minute left in the half, the Marauders regained the lead and ended the half on a 5-0 scoring run to earn a 30-26 advantage at the break.
Both teams traded baskets in the second half before UMary reached their biggest lead of the night, halfway through the second frame, at eight points. The Warriors stayed in the fight to get within four points at 55-59 after holding the Marauders to nearly a five-minute scoring drought.
Winona State and UMary traded scores on the next several possessions as the Marauders held a 63-59 lead with 1:18 remaining in the game.
The Warriors saw several open looks from deep, but were unable to connect down the stretch and UMary held on for the 67-59 victory.
WSU shot 25-67 (0.373) from the field and was just 4-27 (0.148) from beyond the arc while UMary went 24-46 (0.522) from the field and 8-17 (0.471) from three-point land. The Warriors outscored the Marauders 38-26 in the paint and forced 14 turnovers to nine of their own.
Connor Dillon and
Connor Drew each scored 12 points to lead WSU on offense, while
Owen King added 11. King led WSU with seven rebounds and five assists.
Declan Dillon also dished out five assists in a game-high 38 minutes.
Winona State (11-8, 6-8 NSIC) will host Northern State and MSU Moorhead on Friday, Jan. 27 and Saturday, Jan. 28 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.
