With only three weeks remaining on the season, the Winona State men’s basketball team needed to make a statement.
The Warriors currently stand at No. 6 from last week’s National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division II Central Region rankings.
The top eight teams make the tournament, but with the top ten being so clustered, Winona State was in a must-win situation.
Although the Warriors struggled with Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference rival Wayne State College (8-15 overall, 4-12 NSIC), they pulled away with a 77-68 victory.
“We couldn’t look past Wayne and can’t look past anybody,” said Winona State head coach Mike Leaf.
Winona State had many difficulties in the first half with the Wildcats as Wayne State pulled out to an early 14-7 lead with 12:31 to go on a lay-in by Wildcat forward Brian Metz.
However, the Warriors rallied back by going on a 13-2 run of their own in the following four minutes to take a 20-16 lead.
Curtrell Robinson and Jon Walburg helped in the run by producing 10 of the 13 points scored in that stretch.
It would be a back and forth battle throughout the final eight minutes as there were six lead changes going into the final minute.
It looked as though the Wildcats would take a three-point lead into halftime but a jumper by Robinson at the buzzer sent Winona State into halftime with some momentum, still trailing 31-30.
In the first half, the Warriors had no answer for Wayne State’s hot shooting and inside presence as the Wildcats shot 51-percent in the first half.
Winona State struggled in the first half as they only shot 38-percent which included 27-percent from three-point range.
Overall, the Warriors were able to bring that percentage up in the second half by attacking inside with freshman center Joel Armstrong.
In the first ten minutes of the second half, there were three ties and three lead changes, with neither team leading by more than five points.
“They are a very physical team,” said Leaf. “Wayne has a presence inside and some decent shooters from the perimeter. One of the things we did is break them down with some dribble penetration.”
Winona State would get the lead for good off a three-pointer by freshman guard Max Hintz at the 10:54 mark, putting Winona State up 50-48.
David Johnson was a giant contributor for the Warriors during this stretch as he scored eight of Winona State’s 17 points leading up to the Hintz three-pointer.
Winona State carried the momentum a few possessions later when Armstrong slammed home a crowd roaring dunk and the foul to expand the Warriors’ lead to 53-48.
Winona State dominated the last ten minutes of the game, grabbing as much as a 15-point lead during that stretch and eventually pulled off a 77-68 victory.
The Warriors took control in the second half by shooting 14-of-27 from the field and 16-of-17 from the charity stripe.
“We actually normally shoot the ball well from the perimeter but we were able to get some inside points and got some good dribble penetration,” said Leaf. “It is key to get to the free throw line.”
Leading the Warrior scoring attack in this one was Johnson who scored 20 points.
He only shot 4-of-13 from the field and 1-of-7 from the three-point arc, but his 11-of-13 free throw shooting would tally more than half his points.
The Warriors recorded four players in double-figures.
Armstrong added 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting and six rebounds in only 24 minutes played.
Robinson off the bench helped Winona State’s cause by also adding 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting in 24 minutes.
Josh Korth also broke double-figures with 10 points.
The Wildcats had four players break double-figures, led by Metz with 17 points, Brent Jackman with 12 points, Zane Abner with 11 points and Jonathon Thomas with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Although Winona State won a hard-fought victory, their next opponent would be no pushover.
On Saturday night, the No. 9 team in the Central region, Augustana Vikings came to town to take on the Warriors.
Augustana delivered Winona State’s worst loss of the season in Sioux Falls, handing the Warriors an 88-72 loss back on January 17.
“We knew that we lost out there at their place,” said Leaf. “Everybody was hitting and it was one of those nights where the ball was falling for them.”
However, Winona State (20-6 overall, 13-4 NSIC) returned the favor by striking back with an 81-68 victory over Augustana (16-7 overall, 10-6 NSIC) on Saturday night.
This would not be a trademark victory for the Warriors, as it did not come down to hot shooting.
It was a physical, duke-it-out game where the team with more hustle proved to be the victor.
From start to finish, it would be the Warriors out-scrapping Augustana to almost every loose ball.
Unlike the previous meeting, Winona State’s defense showed up in a big way.
In the last meeting, Augustana outshot Winona State 55-percent to 45-percent and won the turnover game, 14-10.
However, in this meeting, neither team shot well but Winona State’s defense held Augustana completely in-check.
The Warriors only allowed the Vikings to shoot 35-percent and forced them to commit 17 turnovers.
Winona State shot only 38-percent from the field, but took care of the basketball by only committing seven turnovers.
Despite Winona State’s poor shooting performance, neither could be blamed on Winona State’s three leading scorers.
Ben Fischer carried the team on his back, scoring a season-high 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting, 2-for-4 from the three-point arc and shooting 6-of-8 from the charity stripe; all while contributing six assists and two steals.
“He distributes the ball so well,” Leaf said about Fischer. “He was really looking to get the ball to those guys (Travis Whipple, Johnson and Jon Walburg). He had a great game and one of his greatest strengths is taking the ball to the basket.”
Whipple, who did not score a point against Wayne State, made up for it in a big way by adding 19 points on 5-of-11 shooting and going a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line, while also ripping down seven rebounds.
Armstrong continued his well-rounded play by adding 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting and gathering five rebounds.
“Joel (Armstrong) has done a nice job of getting inside,” said Leaf. “There’s that confidence that you build and you get that experience of playing.”
Winona State picked up two big victories, despite the shooting woes of their superstar, Johnson.
Johnson on the weekend shot 7-for-30, only 23-percent, which included 2-of-14 from the three-point arc.
Even though Johnson struggled, the team was able to pick up the highly touted guard by getting two key wins.
Winona State is in a two-way tie for second place in the NSIC with Minnesota State-Mankato, each having a 13-4 record in conference play.
Southwest Minnesota State picked up two huge victories this weekend to retain their first place position in the conference at 14-3.
However, Winona State could have a shot at a three-way tie this weekend, as Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota State will duel each other in Mankato on Saturday.
An MSU-Mankato win could push Winona State into a tie for first place.
“We’re taking each game as if it were a tournament game,” said Leaf. “If we lose a game, it’s detrimental to our season. You need to play each game as if it were last.”
However, Winona State will only have one team on their mind, and that will be Bemidji State.
The Warriors will host the Beavers on Saturday in what will be Winona State’s home court finale.
The last time the two teams met, Winona State pulled out a 90-60 victory in Bemidji back on December 12.
“Bemidji has really improved this season,” said Leaf. “They went out to Northern State and beat them in overtime. They’ve got some quality wins against good teams in our league. They are talented and on any given night, anything can happen.”
The game will tip off at 8:00 p.m. in McCown Gymnasium.
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