St. Paul, Minn.-
Connor Dillon scored a career-high 41 points for the Winona State University men's basketball team as the Warriors cruised to a 78-67 win at Concordia, St. Paul. Dillon's impressive night saw him improve upon his previous career best of 40 points and help WSU extend their winning streak to three straight victories.
Winona State (13-8, 8-7 NSIC) saw Dillon deliver his career-best performance and haul in 10 rebounds for the double-double against the Golden Bears. Brock Voigt was also an important factor in the game, scoring 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting. In scoring 41 on the night, Dillon captured the fifth-place mark for most points scored in a single game by a Winona State player since Carter Glad in 1989.
Winona State led by eight at the break, 38-30 and staved off a strong second half performance by the home side to earn the win. The victory allowed WSU to move to 24-6 in the all-time series between the two schools.
In addition to the two big scorers in Dillon and Voigt, WSU got help from Olumide Adelodun on the boards, grabbing nine rebounds. Declan Dillon joined Connor Dillon and Adelodun in having four assists as well.
How It Happened
Fans on hand in the Gangelhoff Center got a glimpse early on as to the script for the evening, as Connor Dillon made three, 3-pointers in row, followed by a layup in the paint prior to the first media timeout. Dillon's early hot-hand gave WSU an 11-5 lead after five minutes of play.
Joining Dillon as the first half wore on in the scoring column was Olumide Adelodun and Brock Voigt, with both Warriors knocking down short-range jumpers on either side of the 10-minute mark.
The first half concluded much as it started, with Dillon tallying a pair of baskets in quick succession with under three minutes to play, the later of which came courtesy of Adelodun rebound following a Golden Bear miss on a 3-pointer.
At the break, Dillon had a remarkable 20 points in 20 minutes for Winona State, as the two teams went to the locker rooms with WSU owning a eight point advantage.
At the Half: Winona State 38, Concordia, St. Paul 30.
Following intermission, Connor Drew opened up the scoring for WSU with a 3-pointer and Connor Dillon added to his total moments later with a triple at 16:58.
The Golden Bears would close to within seven points at 47-40 just after a timeout, but Winona State would close out the second half maintaining a double-digit lead for all but 45 seconds of the last 15 minutes.
Connor Dillon scored his final three-pointer of the evening with 17 seconds to go as Winona State ended the contest with a 78-67 advantage.
With the Warrior win, WSU extended their winning streak to three games.
WSU Stats Standouts:
Connor Dillon 41 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 8-of-14 from 3-point distance
Brock Voigt 20 points, 3 rebounds, 2 Assists
Olumide Adelodun 6 points, 9 rebounds.
Team Stats Comparables:
CSP doubled up WSU in steals, 4-2
WSU had just two players in double digits while CSP had three
CSP shot 23-of-69 (33.3%) while WSU was 28-of 60
Up Next:
Winona State (13-8,7-7 NSIC) will travel to the University of Sioux Falls on Friday, Feb. 2 and Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday, Feb. 3 in an NSIC Weekend on the road.
