WINONA, Minn. – The Warrior men's basketball team found themselves in the winning column against Minnesota State after they defeated the Mavericks 83-75.
Winona State caught fire in the first half leading 47-33 by halftime. A slow start but strong finish from the Warriors allowed them to maintain their lead in the second half winning the contest 83-75.
How it Happened:
To start the game, both teams would battle back and forth and after the first eight minutes the score would be tied 14-14. The Warriors would slowly pull away after a pair of jumpers from
Gavyn Hurley and a couple impressive three-point shots from
Tyler Mason. Going into halftime, WSU would hold a confident 47-33 lead. Winona State shot an electric 63.6% from three in the first half and 63.3% from the field, a season record for the Warriors.
In the second half, the Mavericks shot lights out to start outscoring the Warriors 17 to six in the first five minutes. After minutes of MSU and WSU going jump shot for jump shot, Winona State would hit consecutive three-point shots and a pair of jumpers to extend their lead to 12. There was no looking back for Winona State as Minnesota State desperately needed to foul putting WSU in the bonus. The Warriors would finish strong backed by an elite showing from the charity stripe and win the game 83-75.
Statistical Comparison:
- The Warriors shot 32-of-57 (56.1%) from the field while the Mavericks went 27-of-64 (42.2%).
- MSU won the battle of the boards with 35. Winona State shot four-of-22 (18.2%) from deep with the Lions going 12-of-22 (54.5%) from three-point land.
- From the free throw line, WSU went eight-for-11 (72.7%) while MSU shot 16-of-18 (88.9%) from the charity stripe.
- Hurley led the Warriors in scoring with 18 points on seven-of-14 shooting and 11 rebounds to give him the double-double on the night
- Ryan Heise registered 15 points on six-of-11 shooting and a perfect two-of-two from the line.
- Aidan Bardic dished out a team-high four assists on the afternoon.
- Malcom Jones scored a game-high 24 points on eight-of-17 shooting and a solid eight-of-eight from the line.
- Colton Benson added 18 points on six-of-11 shooting and four-of-seven from deep.
The Warriors are in action next this weekend on Saturday, December 6th at St. Cloud State at 2:00pm.
