ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Winona State men's basketball team traveled to St. Louis, Missouri to compete against the University of Missouri – St. Louis, defeating them 72-62.
The University of Missouri St. Louis competes in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) a highly competitive NCAA Division II conference containing 15 separate NCAA Universitys, including former NSIC foe Upper Iowa.
How it Happened:
Winona State and UMSL each entered Wednesday's contest both competing at neutral sites for their first two games of the season and the game between the two teams was closely contested throughout.
Luke Haertle got on the board first for the Warriors, but the Tritons would take an early lead seeing Winona State battle uphill early. Down 15-21, a three-pointer from Isaiah Thompson and a tip in layup from Connor Drew would put the Warriors within a one score contest. Matt Enright would proceed to score four straight points for UMSL before another Warrior three pointer, this time coming from Connor Drew would bring the lead back to three points. Going into the half, WSU would knock down two more three pointers taking a 37-25 lead going into the break.
The Second half would begin where we left off, with another three coming from Connor Drew, extending the lead to 14 points. With 12:52 left in the half the lead would be cut back to single digits with the Tritons getting within seven points of the Warriors. Freshman Tyler Mason would respond by knocking down a three and a pair of free throws on his way to 15 points on the night. Winona State extended the lead to 17 points with six minutes left, firing on all cylinders giving them a comfortable lead to finish the game winning 72-62.
Individual Leaders:
- Luke Haertle would lead the Warriors in points with 17 on 6-10 shooting and 1-3 from beyond the arc.
- Tyler Mason and Connor Drew would collect 15 points apiece.
- Connor Drew would post a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
- Matt Enright would lead the Tritons with 25 points on 8-14 shooting and 6-11 from three-point range.
Team Comparison:
- Both teams would shoot similarly from the field with the Warriors taking the edge at 45.6% with the Tritons at 41.2%.
- Winona State would gather in 10 offensive rebounds compared to UMSL's 7.
- Both teams would shoot exceptionally well from the free throw line with WSU shooting 10-11 and Missouri- St. Louis shooting 8-10.
- Winona State would win the turnover battle for the first time this season with 13 turnovers in the game compared to the Tritons 16.
Winona State (2-1, 0-0 NSIC) is next in action inside McCown Gymnasium facing off against Michigan Tech University (2-0, 0-0 GLIAC) in a non-conference game on Saturday, November 16 at 1pm.
