After a losing weekend against Wayne State last week, the Warriors’ men’s basketball team was able to start their two-game matchup against the Minnesota State University Mankato Mavericks on Friday, Feb. 5 with a win of 86-71.

Fourth-year player Kevion Taylor led the game once again scoring 30 out of the 86 points of the evening.

This broke the Warriors’ three-game losing streak after losing to the Wayne State Wildcats on both nights last week and the Augustana Vikings the week before.

Third-year player Alec Rosner said the team felt up much more prepared for this game compared to last week’s.

“They’ve [the team] had a good week of practice,” Rosner said. “I think they’ll be ready to play and up to the challenge.”

Rosner is currently not playing due to a partially torn ACL, but he is hoping to return next season.

With the team not having Rosner this season, who is usually a strong player, and third-year player Alou Dillon recently returning from a serious injury, the Warriors are relying on a team of veterans, such as Connor Dillon, to not only be starters in their games but also to introduce the first-year players to the game.

“We [Rosner and A. Dillon] would both have a positive impact on the team,” Rosner said. “Alou being just a physical, big man and me being able to score on the post.”

After clocking in lots of playing time last year, Rosner is an experienced player that the team is missing this season.

The Warriors were definitely prepared for Friday’s game, pulling off a successful win, but were not able to keep up on Saturday, losing 89-64. Rosner said the biggest thing the team is struggling with is putting their losses behind them.

“After losing three straight [games], [we need to] put that in the past, move forward and just focus on the next game ahead instead of worrying about the games we lost before,” Rosner said.

Even during a losing game, Kevion Taylor hit a career record for three-pointers made, This ties him with nine other past Warriors, Taylor being the most recent to achieve this since 2015.

“I think our biggest strength as a team is shooting the three ball,” Rosner said. “I think everyone on our team can shoot it, [our] coach trusts everyone on our team to shoot it.”

While Taylor leads the team and tied the record for three-pointers made, the other Warriors are all capable, as shown tonight when three other players each scored one.

With four games left in the regular season, those upcoming games are crucial to advancing and being able to start off with high spirits next year.

Next weekend should be refreshing for the team as they play Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears, who are 0-6 this season in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) South and 1-9 overall.

So far this season, the Warriors are 4-5 overall and 2-4 in the NSIC South Conference, leaving them on fairly average ground in a bizarre season such as this one.