The Winona State University men’s basketball team regained their winning streak by defeating Augustana University and Wayne State College. With those two victories, they are now in the fifth position in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) by scoring the same number of points as Southwest Minnesota State.
The Warriors defeated Augustana University on Feb. 9 with a score of 80-67. Augustana University is a fast-paced attacking team, well-known for frequently switching sides on the court. In comparison, Winona State is famous for its rock-solid defense.
The game started with a 3-point shot by Connor Dillon, a rebound by Devon Fielding, and a 2-point shot by C. Dillon all in succession which resulted in an early five-point lead. Because of early scoring, Warrior scoring machine, C. Dillon became the main target of Augustana University’s defense.
In the middle of the first half, Augustana University attempted to take the lead with the help of their attacking speed. They used the advantage of every miss the Warriors made as they tried to turn the ball in their favor. The idea of blocking C. Dillon was also effective for them.
“Their transition offense was pretty good and very fast. So, we kind of struggle with that early on,” C. Dillon said. “So just matching up and finding random people to pick up was just kind of the main goal of slowing down.”
This strategy did not work in the long run. While C. Dillon was blocked, Winona State’s Declan Dillon put himself in the scoring role, racking up several points before Connor Drew finished the half with a 3-pointer.
Both teams came back with new strategies after the break leading into the second half. While Augustana University was occupied blocking C. Dillon and Drew, they left D. Dillon and Fielding unguarded. Winona State was prepared with a plan to take advantage of such a situation, having the open pair take several shots.
“If I am open, I am going to shoot all the time,” D. Dillon said.
- Dillon scored three two-point baskets and one 3-pointer, his accuracy sitting at more than 90%. Fielding had six two-pointers, but his accuracy sat just slightly lower than usual. This prodigy was given the highest number of chances that night to score than
“They kind of just left me open to focus on our Connor Dillon,” Fielding said.
Even after handling a lot of blocking, C. Dillon still scored the highest number of points for the team, which was 24. And D. Dillon had the highest number of rebounds, which was 12. This victory gave the Warriors a boost in the second match as well.
In the second match of the week against Wayne State College, which took place on Saturday, Winona State won 73-65. This match also started the same way as the last one with a 3-point shot by C. Dillon.
A stronghold of the game was had by the Warriors from the beginning as they never lost the lead in the first half. They finished the half with 42 points and a lead of 16 points.
The story remained the same in the second half as well. Winona State kept writing their comeback story. They never lost the lead in this half as well. C. Dillon again became the highest scorer with 18 points. Injured Olumide Adelodun got up with eight rebounds and 16 points, which is the second highest for his team.
“It’s been a tough adjustment for Olumide. As soon as he got back, he got hurt again. Had to sit two weeks and then when he got back again, he hurt his ankle,” Head Coach Eisner said.
The Warriors have 3 more NSIC matches left, where they will face Northern State University in an away match, Bemidji State University, and University of Minnesota Crookston at home. If they can pull up a win in these three matches, there is a chance that they can finish 4th on the NSIC leaderboard.
