ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The Winona State men's basketball team lost the final regular season contest against St. Cloud State University 70-65. Following the contest, the Warriors finish the regular season with a 19-9 record, earning the seventh seed in the 2025 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament. Winona State will host Wayne State College on Wednesday, February 26th in the first round of the NSIC Tournament.
Leading the Warriors in scoring against SCSU was
Connor Drew with 17 points on 7-17 (41.2%) shooting from the field while also corralling a rebound and recording two steals on the night.
How it Happened:
The Huskies scored first to start the contest with a layup from Lucas Morgan, assisted by Luke Winkel.
Arius Alijosius got the scoring started for the Warriors around the 13-minute mark with a three-pointer assisted by
Jhei-R Jones. St. Cloud State would pull away heading into the half with a tip-in layup from Morgan to bring the score to SCSU 31, WSU 24.
Winkel would begin the scoring in the second half for the Huskies with a three-pointer assisted by Wyatt Hawks, shortly after Drew would answer for the Warriors with a layup. The teams would continue to trade baskets throughout the first couple minutes of the second half. Winona State, late in the half, would go on a 16-0 run to cut the lead to just two. With under one minute to go, free throws by SCSU's Kynan Philippe and Winkel would close out the contest, bringing the final score to Huskies 70, Warriors 65.
Individual Leaders:
- Drew led the Warriors in scoring with 17 points.
- Luke Haertle led WSU in rebounds with nine, assists with five, and steals with four.
- Tyler Mason led Winona State in blocks with two.
- Winkel and Philippe led the Huskies in scoring each with 18 points.
Team Comparison
- Winona State went 24-60 (40%) from the field, while St. Cloud State went 26-59 (44.8%).
- SCSU went 11-28 (39.3%) from beyond the arc, while WSU went 7-25 (28%).
- The Warriors went 10-15 (66.7%) from the free-throw line, while the Huskies went 7-10 (70%).
- St. Cloud State recorded a total of 43 rebounds with 10 offensive and 33 defensive, while, Winona State recorded a total of 27 rebounds with five offensive and 22 defensive.
The Warriors will return to action on Wednesday, February 26th, when they host Wayne State College in the first round of the NSIC Tournament. Tip-off is set for 6:00pm in McCown Gymnasium.
