WINONA, Minn. - The Winona State University men's basketball team overcame a cold-shooting start to pull away from cross-town rival Saint Mary's University, dealing a 87-39 defeat to the Cardinals.
Connor Dillon scored 29 points and
Connor Drew delivered another 15 as WSU put on a strong second half showing for the Warrior faithful in attendance.
Key Details: Winona State 87, Saint Mary's 39.
How it Happened
Both squads struggled to find a shooting rhythm early on, with the two teams trading more fouls than made buckets in the first 10 minutes.
Saint Mary's took a brief lead at 11-10 with 13:30 remaining in the first half. The Cardinals' advantage was short lived however, as WSU would move out in front, 16-11, behind buckets by
Connor Drew and
Declan Dillon. Dillon's drive came off a swipe and score that brought the crowd into the contest.
SMU would battle back to tie the game at 16-16 before
Connor Dillon would set up Conner Drew for a long-range three-pointer, putting WSU back in front, 19-16.
Winona State would slowly pull away from the Cardinals over the remainder of the first 20 minutes of play.
Connor Dillon helped the WSU cause as the half wound down with a three-pointer assisted by
Carter Lomas with just over two minutes to play.
The two teams would head into the locker room with WSU owning a 37-22 advantage over Saint Mary's.
At the Half: Winona State 37, SMU 22
After the break, Winona State would see the Cardinals open the scoring with a pair of made free throws by Cameron Mallory, but WSU would then go on a run that would be a sign of things to come in the second half.
Winona State would score the next six buckets, including a natural hat trick of triples by
Carter Lomas, who made three, 3-pointers in a row. By the time the run was halted by a media timeout, WSU sat on a 52-29 lead and were positioned to run away with the game.
WSU's
Tyler Borowski hit a three pointer to move the scoreboard to 60-32 at the 11:00 minute mark and Winona State would enjoy amble and balanced scoring from the Warrior bench the rest of the way.
Winona State held SMU to just 17 second half points, en route to the 87-39 exhibition win.
WSU Stat Standouts
Connor Dillon, 29 points, 6-of-10 from 3-point land, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 1 steal
Connor Drew, 15 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal
Carter Lomas, 9 points
SMU Stat Standouts
Breyton Buysman, 13 points, 6-of-10 overall, 2 blocks
As a Team
WSU was 14-of-17 from the free throw line.
Winona State outscored Saint Mary's 50-17 in the second half
The Warriors held SMU to just three offensive rebounds in the contest.
WSU shot 71.43% (10-of-14) from behind the arc in the second half.
Beyond the Box Score
Sunday's game marked the assistant coaching debuts of Cole Rabedeaux and Devin Whitelow.
Connor Dillon had 29 points in 29 minutes of action.
The SMU matchup is one of two Sunday contests on the Warrior schedule; WSU will host Wisconsin Parkside on Sunday, Dec. 31 as well.
Up Next
Winona State will open their 2023-24 regular season schedule on the road in Kansas City, Mo., taking part in the Central Region Challenge. WSU will face the University of Arkansas Monticello on Friday, Nov. 10 and Southern Arkansas University on Saturday, Nov. 11. Both games are at 7 p.m.
