PITTSBURG, Kan. - The Winona State men's basketball team opened their 2025-26 regular season slate in a 60-59 back-and-forth victory over Southern Arkansas University.
In a game with eight ties and five lead changes, the Warriors were able to pull ahead late to win their opening contest of the 2025-26 season.
Gavyn Hurley scored on a layup with 0:02 seconds left to give the Warriors the 60-59 win.
How it Happened:
After trailing 10-5 through the first five minutes, the Warriors scored four points in a row on a pair of free throws by
Ryan Heise and Hurley. A three-point jumper by
Alessandro Tonelli tied the contest at 12-12 halfway through the first half. WSU later fell behind at 26-19, but a 12-2 run sparked by a
Tyson Keil three-point play, a Hurley three-ball, and an
Aidan Bardic layup assisted by
Ryan Watters gave the Warriors the edge at 31-28. Bardic scored on a driving layup at the horn to give Winona State a 33-30 lead going into the break.
Hurley knocked in a floating jumper to start the scoring off for the Warriors in the second frame to make it 35-32. Four points in a row from Heise kept the squad ahead at 40-38 with 15:34 remaining. After Southern Arkansas tied the game at 40-40,
Tyler Mason went on a mini-run of his own making a layup and knocking in a three-pointer to put WSU back in front at 45-40. The Muleriders later went ahead 48-47 with 11:23 to play. WSU responded with buckets from Bardic, Heise, and Hurley gave the lead back to the Warriors at 53-48 with 7:46 to play. Southern Arkansas battled back with five points of their own to knot the game at 53-53 with 4:43 remaining. WSU pulled the lead back in their favor with a 5-0 run by a
Jaron Crews jumper and a Bardic three-point jump shot to make it 58-53 with 2:54 remaining. SAU grabbed the lead back after a 6-0 scoring spurt to make it 59-58 Muleriders with 1:10 left in the game. After SAU missed the front end of the bonus with 0:22 left, Hurley then scored on a layup assisted by Heise with 0:02 left to make it 60-59 WSU. The Muleriders were unable to get a shot off in the final seconds, finishing off the Warriors' exciting opening victory.
Statistical Comparison
- The Warriors were 21-of-49 (42.9%) from the field while the Muleriders were 20-of-56 (35.7%) in the loss.
- Southern Arkansas outrebounded the Warriors by a slim 39-35 margin.
- Winona State was five-of-18 (27.8%) from three-point land with Southern Arkansas going four-of-18 (22.2%).
- Both teams shot 22 free throws with WSU going 13-of-22 (59.1%) and SAU shooting 15-of-22 from the charity strip.
- Heise led a trio of Warriors in double figures with a game-high 15 points. Hurley added 14 points with Bardic chipping in 11 points.
- Heise led the team with nine rebounds while Watters added eight in the win.
- Southern Arkansas was led by Greg Moore Jr and Troy'reon Ramos who each had 11 points in the loss.
- Roderick Williams Jr had a double-double in the contest with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Winona State will play their second game of the Central Region Challenge against #2 Washburn University on Saturday, November 15 at 5:00pm in Pittsburg, Kansas.
