Erin Cochran/Winonan

The Winona State University men’s basketball team hosted the Northern State Wolves and the Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons this weekend and came out victorious in both games brining their record to 20-3 overall and 14-2 in NSIC play.

On Friday, fans packed McCown gymnasium and watched as the Warriors defeat the Wolves, 75-59.

Winona State had and early lead and maintained it the entire game.

Grant Johnson scored a staggering 26 points and went 10-of-12 from the floor. He was just two points away from his career high. Johnson hit three shots from behind the 3-point line and had six rebounds. The senior has been a huge asset to the team coming off the bench.

Clayton Vette did his part for the team and impressed, adding 21 points.

This was the tenth time the senior has reached 20 points this season. He scored 8-of-13 from the field and added nine rebounds. Johnson and Vette combined went 18-0f-25.

The Warriors defense held strong and only allowed 38 percent from the Wolves and blocked ten attempts.

“As the shot clock rolled down we knew we just had to hold it and stay solid,” said Taylor.

The Warriors collected 16 offensive rebounds, outrebounding Northern State 45-33.This is the 13th opponent Winona State has held to under 60 points.

Saturday’s game versus the Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons was no different than the day before and came out victorious 73-68.

The Dragons put up a valiant fight, coming within four with just two minutes to play.

A back-and-forth trading of 3-pointers went all the way until there was 25 seconds left on the clock. Taylor nailed a free throw and Xavier Humphrey added two to preserve the lead and ultimately the victory.

Cameron added ten for the Warriors as well as six assists and two blocked shots.

“We’re playing well,” said Cameron, “We all just have to focus on our positions and do what’s expected of us. St. Cloud is this weekend and that’s a tough place to play. We’re going to have to play our best game in order to beat them.”

Humphrey added nine, Johnson with seven and Palkert had eight.

Vette led in scoring with 22 points and went 8-of-11 in shooting. He now has 1,478 points in his career and is Winona State’s 12th highest all-time scorers.

“In this game, it’s never about just one player,” said Vette, “It’s a team sport and it is the whole team that wins together. We just have to feed off each other.”

It was revealed Monday Vette was named the NSIC Player Of The Week honor. He averaged 21.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in the two victories and doesn’t appear to be slowing down a bit.

This win brings Winona State’s record to 20-3 overall on the season and 14-2 in NSIC play. This victory also marked the fifth-longest win streak in school history with 14 games straight.

This is the first time since to 2007-08 season the team has gone on such a streak and that season ended with a NCAA Division II national title.

“We like where we’re at right now,” said Vette. “We have a close bond within the team and we just have to keep this rolling.”

The Warriors will continue the action this weekend as they travel to St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth.

Contact Erin at [email protected].