WINONA, Minn. – Winona State men's basketball dropped the regular season finale 62-50 versus (RV) St. Cloud State. Despite the loss, the Warriors will advance to the 2026 NSIC Men's Basketball Tournament beginning on Wednesday, February 25th.
WSU held SCSU to under 40% from the field but shot just 35.7% from the floor and 15% from deep themselves to drop the contest 62-50.
Winona State will make their third-consecutive trip to the NSIC Tournament after earning the final spot in this year's bracket. WSU, the 12th seed, will hit the road on Wednesday and will learn their opponent later this evening.
How it Happened:
The Warriors held an early 11-3 lead at the 14:51 minute mark after an
Alessandro Tonelli three-pointer and a couple of
Tyler Mason jump shots. What followed was a lot of back and forth with Winona State having a dry spell for the next three minutes, but
Tyson Keil would put an end to the drought at the 9:19 minute mark with a monstrous dunk set up by Mason giving WSU a 15-12-point lead. SCSU would take the lead with 7:19 remaining in the first half off of a pair of free throws from the Huskies own Will Brands. But the Warriors would respond on the next possession with a
Ryan Heise layup for WSU to regain the lead. St. Cloud State would find their rhythm next, going on a 7-0 run and taking a 24-17-point lead with 3:39 remaining. The half would end on a tough and-one finish by
Tyler Borowski, and the score would be 27-22, Huskies.
In the second half, SCSU scored the first five points and was finally stopped after at Mason mid-range jumper with 17:57 left to play. Just when it looked like Winona State was struggling to find answers, Tonelli would hit a contested three-point jumper to keep the deficit to single digits. The Huskies' lead would dwindle all the way to seven points once Aiden Bardic hit a strong driving layup with 10:30 remaining. But every time WSU seemed to grow its momentum, SCSU had an answer. A good three-pointer by St. Cloud States Anish Ramlall gave them a 50-38-point lead with 7:32 left on the clock and there was no recovery from Winona State. The Warriors' deficit would stay in double digits for the remainder of regulation, and they would ultimately fall to the Huskies 62-50.
Statistical Comparison:
- The Warriors shot 20-of-56 (35.7%) from the field while the Huskies went 21-of-54 (38.9%)
- Winona State connected on three-of-20 (15.0%) three-pointers with St. Cloud State going five-of-15 (33.3%) from three-point land.
- The rebound battle was tied at 37 apiece.
- Heise and Mason led WSU with 14 points each on six-of-11 shooting and five-of-15, respectively. Heise added seven rebounds and Mason added three.
- Tonelli added six points and five rebounds while Bardic chipped in with five points and five rebounds.
- Luke Winkel led the Huskies with 10 points on two-of-eight shooting while Wyatt Hawks added 10 points and seven rebounds.
- Ramlall shot three-of-six from beyond the arc scoring nine points with two rebounds and also gathered four steals for SCSU.
Winona State (9-18, 8-14 NSIC) will turn their attention toward postseason play, beginning on the road on Wednesday, February 25th in the NSIC Tournament First Round.
