MARSHALL, Minn. - The Warriors were unable to hold on after a strong first half that saw them up by as many as nine points, as WSU fell 79-71 at SMSU.
WSU jumped out to a 19-10 lead in the first half behind a strong offensive start to the game. SMSU tightened the contest to a slight 36-34 Warrior lead at the break. Both teams traded blows in the second half with the Mustangs pulling ahead late to capture the eight-point NSIC win.
How it Happened:
WSU jumped out of the gate with a 10-5 advantage at 17:43 after two three-pointers by
Tyler Mason and two layups from
Gavyn Hurley.
Ryan Heise made a tip-in bucket putting the contest at 14-10 Warriors with 14:24 left in the first half. A Heise three-ball assisted by
Aidan Bardic gave WSU their largest lead of the half at 19-10 at the 12:37 mark in the first half. The Mustangs Calvin Buss cut the Warriors edge to 21-18 after a layup at 9:55. Hurley scored on a layup at 6:45, extending Winona State's advantage to 26-20. A Brayson Boike three-pointer tied the game at 26-26 with 5:52 left in the half. After WSU and SMSU battled to a 30-30 tie, Mason buried his third and fourth three-balls of the first half, granting WSU a tight 36-34 lead after the first 20 minutes.
Alessandro Tonelli came out firing, scoring nine quick points on two three-pointers and a three-point play, giving Winona State a slim 45-41 lead with 17:31 left in the contest. SMSU stormed back to take a 54-47 advantage following a Mason Lund layup at 11:17. A pair of
Tyson Keil free throws cut the Warriors deficit to 54-48 at the 10:45 mark. Another Tonelli three-ball made it 61-56 Mustangs with 6:45 left in the game. Mason closed the gap to 62-58 SMSU after a layup at 6:00. A crucial Heise three-pointer at 4:05 dropped the Mustangs edge to 64-63. A Hurley tip-in kept the game within one possession at 68-65 SMSU with 1:39 to play. Six late points from Mason were not enough as the Warriors fell 79-71 on the road.
Statistical Comparison:
- The Warriors shot 24-of-53 (45.3%) from the field while the Mustangs went 28-of-51 (54.9%)
- Winona State connected on 11-of-23 (47.8%) three-pointers with SMSU going 12-of-24 (50.0%) from three-point land.
- The Mustangs won the rebound battle 29-25 over the Warriors.
- Mason led WSU with 24 points on seven-of-12 shooting, five-of-seven from deep, and a perfect five-of-five from the FT line.
- Tonelli added 15 points, going four-of-seven from three-point range.
- Hurley produced 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds while Heise registered 11 points in the loss.
- Jacob Braaten, Lund, and Micah Schlaak all scored 15 points in the Mustangs victory.
- Mekhi Shaw added 11 points with Aeron Stevens chipping in with 10 points and eight rebounds.
WSU heads to the University of Sioux Falls to take on the Cougars on Saturday, February 14 with gametime set for 5:00pm.
