Sam Thiel/Winonan

The Winona State University men’s basketball team kicked off its 2015-16 season with a pair of exhibition victories, defeating the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse over the weekend in Winona.

The games also marked the debut of head coach Todd Eisner, who took over for Mike Leaf in the offseason.

Starting with a matchup against Wisconsin-Eau Claire, the Warriors went on a 10-9 run to start the game and never looked back en route to the 81-43 victory.

Junior Kyle Bauman led the way for Winona State with a game-high 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field. Senior Mark Blacklock chipped in 14 points and connected on all five of his free throws.

On Sunday, the Warriors used 19 points from Bauman to earn their second victory of the season, a 74-61 win over Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Blacklock ended with nine points and corralled eight rebounds, while Conrad Masberg chipped in eight points and nine rebounds to add to the Warrior effort.

Winona State begins its regular season with a matchup against Wisconsin Lutheran Saturday in Winona. Tipoff is set for noon.