MANKATO, Minn. – Winona State fell 74-62 on the road at Minnesota State in the first round of the NSIC Tournament.
The Warriors found themselves down 44-30 at the break. Winona State trimmed the deficit to as few as three points in the second half, but Minnesota State's constant pressure and timely scoring secured the 12-point victory.
How it Happened:
WSU jumped out to a 6-5 lead at the 17:46 mark after back-to-back three-pointers from
Alessandro Tonelli. A three-ball by MSU's Caden Kirkman gave the Mavericks a 13-7 advantage with 15:43 remaining in the first half. An 8-0 Warriors run capped off by an
Aidan Bardic layup granted WSU a 15-13 edge at 13:19.
Tyler Borowski tied the game at 18-18 after a three-pointer at 10:53. A 10-0 run fueled by five points from Colton Benson put Minnesota State in front at 28-18 with 8:02 left in the first half.
Tyler Mason halted the Mavericks spurt with a three-pointer at 7:40 to cut the MSU advantage to 28-21.
Ryan Heise scored on a layup at 4:24, making the contest 37-25 Minnesota State. A Borowski three-ball at 2:25 was followed by four straight points from the Mavericks to close the half at 44-30 MSU.
Winona State came out firing with five points, bringing the game to single digits at 44-35 MSU with 18:23 left. A layup from Mason chipped the deficit down to 47-41 Mavericks at 16:16. Borowski made a layup at 12:03 to tighten the game to its closest point of the half at 51-48 MSU. The Mavericks responded with an 11-2 run capped off by a free throw from Arhman Lewis to make it 62-50. Winona State was not done fighting, following up with a 7-0 spurt finished off by a Borowski three-pointer at 5:22, bringing the game to 62-57 MSU. Heise slammed down a dunk at 2:59, keeping the game within reach at 67-62 Mavericks. Minnesota State combined strong defense and made free throws to end the contest at 74-62 in their favor.
Statistical Comparison:
- The Warriors shot 23-of-57 (40.4%) from the field while the Mavericks went 26-of-59 (44.1%)
- Winona State hit nine-of-31 (29.0%) from three-point range with Minnesota State going 12-of-28 (42.9%) from three-point land.
- The Mavericks won the rebound battle 41-30 over the Warriors.
- Tonelli led the Warriors with 20 points on seven-of-12 shooting and five-of-10 from deep.
- Heise posted 17 points and 11 rebounds in his double-double performance.
- Borowski added 11 points with Bardic dishing out a team-high five assists in the loss.
- Kirkman led MSU with 18 points on six-of-11 shooting and a strong four-of-five shooting from behind the arc.
- Benson and Lewis each contributed 13 points with Malcolm Jones adding a double-double with 11 points and 11 boards in the win.
Winona State concludes their season with a 9-19 record, including an 8-14 mark in NSIC play.
