Erin Cochran/Winonan

The Warriors continued their winning streak to 12 games in a row this past weekend on the road defeating the University of Sioux Falls Cougars 73-63 and the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs 75-60.

At Friday’s game in Sioux Falls, S.D., the Warriors came back during the second half to win 73-63 against the Cougars.

At the half, the Warriors trailed by eight, but in less than three minutes into the second period, Xavier Humphrey and Taylor Cameron tied the score on back-to-back possessions.

With 6:27 left to play, Jordan Fischer and Cameron put the Warriors’ advantage up by double digits.

Cameron put up 19 points, went 6-of-9 from the field, connected two 3-point shots, and had two assists and five rebounds.

Humphrey had three 3-pointers en route to scoring 20 points. He also had two assists, three steals, and three rebounds. Zander Culver put up ten for the team.

The Warriors shot 48.8 percent from the field and connected seven of 14 attempts from behind the line. From the free throw line, the team sunk 24 of their 29 attempts.

Saturday, the team traveled to Marshall, Minn., where they defeated the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs 75-60.

The Warriors connected four 3-pointers making this the 400th consecutive game Winona State has made at least one shot from behind the 3-point line.

Clayton Vette went 9-of-13 from the floor, made both his 3-point attempts, grabbed nine rebounds, and scored a game-high 26 points. This is the ninth time he’s scored at least 20 points this season.

“When you worry about the job you have to do while you are on the court then everything goes as planned,” Vette said “Obviously there are some factors you can’t control such as some turnovers, but when you aren’t too worried about that and do what’s expected you’ll probably come out with a great game and a win.”

Head coach Mike Leaf said, “Clayton and Grant have composure and confidence and when you get them on the court it’s a done deal and they always drive it to the basket or assist in the hopeful win.”

Humphrey added 12 points, Cameron scored 10 and had five assists and rebounds . Grant Johnson had five rebounds as well scoring 14 points.

“In the first half we had some stops but we were able to get out into a fast break just like we have been doing this whole year,” said Cameron.  “That gym is a great environment for us to play in, and we just felt great with getting run-outs and easy shots for the win.”

The Warrior defense held the Mustangs to 33.9 percent from the floor and just 38 percent from behind the 3-point line.

“This is one of the best defenses in the league,” said Southwest Minnesota State coach, Brad Bigler. “The combo of their size, talent and many other factors makes the team very tough to beat.”

This was the 12th time in 19 games the Warrior defense has held an opponent to 60 points or less.

The Warriors made 30-of-59 of field goal attempts, shooting 50.8 percent from the floor.

Winona State is now 18-3 overall, 12-2 in NSIC play and on a 12-game streak.

Minnesota State, Mankato lost to Augustana on Saturday 82-79. Now the Warriors and Mavericks are tied atop of the NSIC standings.

Winona State will return to action this weekend to take on Northern State and Minnesota State University Moorhead. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. against Northern State.

Contact Erin at [email protected].