Erin Cochran/Winonan

The Winona State Warriors men’s basketball team debuted strong, starting off their regular season 3-0 at the Disney Classic in Anaheim, Calif. this past weekend.

“The great thing about starting with a tournament is giving the seniors the shot to step into the full leadership roles and really stepping it up,” said Mike Leaf, head coach.

The team defeated Grand Canyon College 66-64 in the season opener on November 9.

The final quarter proved to be a fight to the end as each team took over on possessions.  Winona State had nine points on the ‘Lopes with 3:15 to play, but the opponent scored the next seven to come within two with just 1:23 remaining.

Jordan Fischer responded to put the gap up by four with 1:02 and the contest continued as the ‘Lopes sunk their free throws.

Turnovers gave Grand Canyon the advantage but their shots rimmed out giving the Warriors the 66-64 win.

Clayton Vette made 12 of 21 field attempts and grabbed 11 rebounds, recording a double-double.

Vette bested his career high of 28 points, set last season at Bemidji State, by three.

Xavier Humphrey added 11 points and Zander Culver had three 3-pointers. Culver and Kellen Taylor also recorded three assists and eight rebounds.

The Warriors shot 46 percent from the field but made only four of 14 3-point attempts.

The tournament continued as the Warriors took on Cal State-Dominguez Hills and won 64-56.

The victory was solidified in the second period with 3-pointers from Humphrey and Jordan Fischer.

Fischer had five boards along with 12 points while Culver and Mark Blacklock added ten.

Humphrey had four assists, grabbed five rebounds and posted 16 points, while Vette added eight and recorded a team-high nine rebounds with four assists.

The Warriors finished the Disney Classic strong with a 70-56 win against North Carolina-Pembroke on Sunday.

The Warriors offense was on their game shooting 57 percent from the floor and 11 shots from the 3-point line.

Culver hit five shots from the floor from behind the 3-point line and posted 17 points while Humphrey hit three treys as well.

The Warrior defense held UNC-Pembroke to 11 percent shooting from the field and forced 16 turnovers.

“You can always rely on our defense,” said Leaf. “We held some pretty good teams to just 60s and 50s and by believing in the defense that was possible.”

Winona State will return home to take on Metro State this Friday at McCown Gymnasium. Game time is 7pm.

Metro State is currently ranked No. 5 in the NABC Division II poll and Winona State is ranked No. 7. The last time these teams met was in Denver, Colo., on Nov. 12, 2011 and the Warriors fell 73-69.

“You can bet that there will be a revenge factor in this one,” Leaf said. “It’ll be a barn-burner.”

To get more information about Winona State basketball visit www.winonastatewarriors.com.

Contact Erin at [email protected].