WINONA, Minn. – The Winona State University men's basketball team ran their winning streak to three games with a 58-53 victory over the University of Minnesota Crookston on Friday, Jan. 6 in McCown Gymnasium, home of WNB Financial Court.
Although the visitors made a surge down the stretch, Winona State was able to hold off Minnesota Crookston when it mattered, thanks in large part to three Warriors notching double-digit scoring nights.
Declan Dillon scored 16 points while
Luke Martens and
Connor Dillon added 14 and 11 points, respectively, to ground any hopes the Golden Eagles had of an upset road win.
Declan Dillon's 16 points were a season-high for the guard from Peoria, Ill. as he went an impressive 6-of-7 from the floor and was perfect from the foul line on all four of his free throw attempts. Dillon handed out three assists and matched Warrior teammate
Connor Drew for the team lead in rebounds with seven.
Luke Martens was also dialed in on the day, knocking down 7-of-11 shots in the game while notching a steal and grabbing a pair of rebounds.
Winona State had not played at home in almost three weeks and the long-range shooting sights were off a bit, as the Warriors were just 1-of-21 from 3-point territory. While the outside touch was absent, WSU was able to parlay a solid night at the foul line (11-of-16) into the five-point victory.
WSU trailed 25-24 at the half but used a 6-2 run to open the second half to claim a lead. Minnesota Crookston matched Winona State bucket-for-bucket through much of the second 20 minutes until Martens and Dillon scored on back-to-back possessions to stake the home team a narrow three-point lead with 5:21 to play.
Minnesota Crookston carved into the Warrior advantage with under a minute to go, closing the gap to a 53-51 WSU lead with 30 seconds remaining.
However,
Luke Martens scored two baskets on battles in the paint in the last 45 seconds for Winona State and
Connor Dillon iced the game with a pair of free throws in the final five seconds after the Golden Eagles were forced to foul.
Overall, Winona State was 23-of-57 (40.4%) from the floor and 1-of-21 (4.8%) on 3-point attempts. WSU hit 11-of-16 (68.8%) free throws, and held a narrow margin on the boards, outrebounding Minnesota Crookston 24-23.
With the win, Winona State improves to 9-5 overall and 4-5 in NSIC action. For Minnesota Crookston, the loss drops the Golden Eagles to 1-14 overall and 0-9 in NSIC play.
Winona State is next in action on Saturday, January 7 when they host Bemidji State University. The Warriors and Beavers will tip off at 5:30 p.m. in McCown Gymnasium, home of WNB Financial Court.
