DULUTH, Minn. - The Winona State University men's basketball team trekked north to take on the University of Minnesota Duluth in a key NSIC contest on Saturday, Dec. 16. Both the Bulldogs and the Warriors entered the week found in the national rankings, with WSU ranked No. 24 and UMD at No. 21 in the NABC Coaches' poll.
When the ruckus wrapped up in Romano Gymnasium on Saturday, a second-half comeback effort by Winona State fell just short, with the Warriors losing 73-62 to the Bulldogs.
Key Details: Minnesota Duluth 73, Winona State 62
How It Happened
Playing on the road for the third time in four games, Winona State was slow to warm up in shooting the basketball, particularly from behind the arc.
Connor Drew opened up the Warrior scoring with a layup and a mid-range jumper in the first few minutes of the contest. A trio of successful free throws by Drew Adams around the 12:15 mark of the opening stanza pulled WSU to within five points at 16-11. Jordan Wilkins and Brock Voigt added to the Warrior effort a short while later, closing the gap to one possession at 19-16 UMD midway through the first half.
Coming out of the timeout at the 10 minute mark however, Minnesota Duluth went on a 14-3 run to push their advantage to 33-19 with just five minutes remaining in the opening frame. The final five minutes saw both teams improve their accuracy from the floor, but for Winona State, trading buckets on each possession with the home side that had a lead, led to a 42-34 disadvantage at the break.
For the half, Minnesota Duluth shot 15-of-28 (53.57%) from the field, including a 5-of-10 (50.0%) mark from behind the arc. In contrast, Winona State was 3-of-13 (23.0%) from long range and 13-of-31 (41.9%) overall.
At the Half: Minnesota Duluth 42, Winona State 34
The second half started with both teams struggling to find a rhythm early on, with WSU and UMD combining for just two made shots each in the first five minutes of play.
For Winona State, Carson Arenz hit a 3-pointer to register the first Warrior points of the second 20 minutes, followed moments later by a Connor Dillon triple to close the Bulldog advantage to just 45-40.
Dillon's long-range delivery would signal a sign of things to come for WSU, as the Peoria, Ill. product combined with Voigt and Devon Fielding to keep pace with Minnesota Duluth for the middle part of the second half.
WSU's persistence would nearly pay off later in the half when the Warriors pulled to within one point, as a pair of made free throws by Brock Voigt moved the scoreboard to 45-44 Bulldogs.
Unfortunately for the Warrior faithful, UMD would go on a 8-2 run to surge back into the drivers seat and were able to hold WSU at bay the rest of the way.
The University of Minnesota Duluth would eventually pull away late with a three-pointer and pair of made free throws in the final 70 seconds to salt away the win over the Warriors at 73-62.
WSU Stat Standouts
Connor Dillon 15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Brock Voigt 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3-of-3 from the free throw line
Connor Drew 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals
Team Stats Comparables
WSU attempted 13 free throws on the night; UMD was awarded 30 trips to the charity stripe, knocking down 18.
Winona State out-rebounded Minnesota Duluth 36-31 and had nine offensive boards, while UMD had six.
The Bulldogs enjoyed 15 points from turnovers in the contest at the expense of the Warriors.
Beyond the Boxscore
With the setback to the Bulldogs, Winona State and Minnesota Duluth are tied at 5-5 over the last ten meetings.
In dropping this afternoon's contest to the Bulldogs, the Warriors suffered their first road loss of the season, having been 4-0 in away games up to today.
In scoring 15 points today, Connor Dillon moved to within 25 points of the 1,000 point mark, sitting at 975 in his Warrior career.
Up Next
Winona State (7-3, 4-3 NSIC) will step out of conference play with a trip to Houghton, Mich. to take on Michigan Tech University on Tuesday, Dec. 19. The Huskies and Warriors will tip off at 1 p.m. in The Student Development Complex Gymnasium.
