Winona State University’s men’s basketball team secured their spot in the semi-finals of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) by defeating one of the strongest teams of the tournament, Southwest Minnesota State University. They won the match 71-60 points.
Winona State reached the quarterfinals by defeating Wayne State College on Wednesday, Feb. 26. In the same week, they had to face Southwest Minnesota at Sanford Pentagon, Sioux Falls (SD), which is a neutral venue for both teams. The match began at 7:00 pm on Saturday, March 1.
Prior to this match, Southwest Minnesota State was ranked first in the NSIC rankings. On the other hand, Winona State was seventh. In addition, Winona State had also struggled with their defense in a few of their previous matches.
In the first half, Southwest Minnesota State opened the game with a 2-pointer. They even doubled their points while the Warriors remained at zero.
Southwest Minnesota State maintained at least a four-point lead for the first five minutes. Three of the main scorers for the Warriors, Luke Haertle, Connor Drew and Isaiah Thompson missed scoring opportunities in the first five minutes.
The Warrior’s body language changed after a 3-pointer from Jhei-R Jones. With the help of Thompson’s 3-pointer, they snatched the lead within the next two minutes.
Thompson said in a pre-match interview that they “play to win” no matter how tough their opponents might be.
Drew and Haertle managed a few rebounds, which allowed the Warriors to increase their lead to 10 points. They recovered from the gaps they had in their defense, making the game challenging for Southwest Minnesota State.
Head coach of the Warriors, Todd Eisner said, “good defense wins matches.”
Southwest Minnesota State took a time out to slow the pace of the game and attempt to make a comeback, but it did not work as they expected. Rather, the Warriors achieved some new tactics in the game.
The Warriors finished the first half with a 19-point lead, leaving the score of the first half at 42-23. In this half, the Warriors scored six 3-pointers, which gave them a big advantage.
The Warriors have a record of winning the match if they score more points than the opponent in the first half. This year they lost only one match after scoring more points in the first half.
According to Haertle, some senior players have gotten good at reading the strategy of the opponent after the first half. Sharing it amongst their team helps them to develop a counter plan.
This statistical advantage of extra points in the first half boosted the confidence of the Warriors in the second. They began the second half with two back-to-back 3-pointers from Mason Tyler.
The game seemed to be one-sided when the Warriors extended their lead to 27 points. Southwest Minnesota State tried to act quickly to get a comeback after that.
Southwest Minnesota State gained two back-to-back 3-pointers and a few jump shots. These points helped them to reduce the lead of the Warriors to 17 points. However, despite all of their attempts to equalize the score, they always fell just a little short. The match ended at 71-60 with the Warriors with an 11-point lead.
After this match, Winona State advanced to the semi-finals of the NSIC tournament. They will be facing Minnesota State University, Moorhead. In the other match, Minot State University will face Minnesota State University, Mankato.
The winners of both matches will face each other in the final match on Tuesday, March 4, at 7:00 pm.
