SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Winona State University men's basketball team suffered a NSIC setback on the road, falling to the University of Sioux Falls, 67-62.
The host Cougars held a two-point advantage at halftime, 38-36, and did just enough to hold off Winona State down the stretch for the win. WSU played from behind for much of the contest but took a one-point lead at 13:26 in the second half and built and eight-point advantage with just over eight minutes to go before the home side answer with a 16-3 run to close out the game and earn the win.
Winona State entered Friday's contest on a two-game winning streak, but USF's five-point victory allowed the Cougars to claim the 2022-23 sweep over the Warriors, having beat WSU 68-63 on Dec. 10.
Connor Drew led Winona State in scoring with 21 points, while
Connor Dillon added 18. Dillon also had five assists - leading WSU - while Drew was the Warrior's top rebounder with eight boards.
James Kelley added nine points and seven rebounds to the Winona State effort.
As a team, WSU shot 20-of-56 (35.7%) from the floor and struggled from behind the arc, hitting 5-of-22 (22.7%) 3-point attempts. Winona State knocked down 17-of-23 (73.9%) free throws.
The University of Sioux Falls was led by Matt Cartwright with 35 points. Noah Puetz had ten rebounds to lead the Cougars, who improve to 17-8 overall and 12-7 in the NSIC.
Winona State falls to 13-11 on the season, 8-11 in NSIC play. The Warriors will wrap up the weekend road trip at Southwest Minnesota State University tomorrow with a 3:30 pm tip off against the Mustangs.
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www.WINONASTATEWARRIORS.com and
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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.
