MANKATO, Minn. – The Warriors lost 77-66 on the road at Minnesota State. WSU went just seven players deep, with all starters playing at least 34 minutes in the loss.
Winona State battled to a slight 35-34 lead at halftime. The teams traded jabs to start the second half, but a pair of runs by the Mavericks was the difference, as the Warriors fell by 11 points on the road.
How it Happened:
An
Aidan Bardic layup at 15:55 tied the contest at 4-4. The Mavericks' Carson Schweim gave MSU a 10-8 advantage after a three-pointer at the 14:16 mark.
Ryan Heise scored on a layup granting WSU a 12-10 edge with 13:13 left in the first half. Will Opsahl buried a three-ball to put MSU in front at 22-19 at the 9:07 mark.
Alessandro Tonelli knocked in a pair of free throws at 8:25 to cut the Mavericks lead to 22-21. Back-to-back buckets scored by Bardic made it 28-25 MSU at 5:13. A three-pointer by Tonelli assisted by Bardic gave WSU the lead back at 30-28 with 3:28 left in the half.
Tyson Keil knocked home a three-ball with six seconds left in the first frame, giving Winona State a slim 35-34 advantage going into the break.
Both teams went back and forth to start off the second half with Tonelli scoring on a layup at 18:02 granting WSU a 39-38 edge. MSU later went on an 11-2 run, capped off by a Malcolm Jones dunk at 15:54, putting the game at 49-41 Mavericks.
Tyler Mason knocked in a three-pointer at 11:05 to slow down the Minnesota State momentum, making the contest 55-49 in favor of MSU.
Tyler Borowski made a layup assisted by Bardic to make it 59-51 Mavericks at 8:46. Bardic cut the Warriors deficit to one possession after a three-ball assisted by Tonelli at 6:11 made it 61-58 Minnesota State. Traijan Sain scored eight points in a row for MSU putting the Mavericks up at a comfortable 69-60 with 3:48 to play. The Warriors were unable to mount a comeback and fell 77-66.
Statistical Comparison:
- The Warriors shot 25-of-56 (44.6%) from the field while the Mavericks went 28-of-66 (42.4%)
- Winona State connected on five-of-23 (21.7%) three-pointers with Minnesota State going eight-of-30 (26.7%) from three-point land.
- The Mavericks won the rebound battle 42-32 over the Warriors.
- Bardic led the Warriors with 19 points on an efficient nine-of-13 shooting while grabbing six rebounds and a game-high five assists.
- Heise scored 15 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
- Mason added 14 points while Tonelli chipped in with 11 points in the loss.
- Jones led MSU with 18 points on seven-of-nine shooting.
- Sain put up 17 points with Arhman Lewis adding 14 points and Caden Kirkman grabbing 11 rebounds in the win.
Winona State closes out the 2025-26 regular season when they host St. Cloud State on Saturday, February 21 at 3:00pm for Senior Day.
