The Winona State University men’s basketball team was on the road again this past weekend, where they traveled to Minot State University in Minot, North Dakota and University of Mary in Bismark, North Dakota.

The Warriors played against the Minot State University Beavers on Friday, Jan. 26. The first half was a slow start for the Warriors; as they trailed by 14 points with 10:43 left on the clock. Junior Mason Domask scored a three-pointer which sparked a desire for comeback. First-year Kevion Taylor added a three-point shot to the board with four minutes left on the clock, which tied the score at 30-30. Junior Connor Flack, sophomore Caleb Wagner and Taylor added eight more points collectively in the remaining minutes of the first half to end it in a Warrior lead of 38-32.

“At the end of the first half everyone was confident and upbeat. Once we settled into the game we knew we would go on to win the game. As a group, we rallied around each other and got one another going,” senior Corey Jeffs said.

The Warriors played the second half of the game strong. They held their lead for the entire 20 minutes of play. Wagner played an exceptional game, scoring almost half of the Warrior points in the first half and scoring more than 20 points throughout the entire game. The Warriors beat the Beavers 70-65, marking the tenth win of the last 13 games for Winona State.

“The end of the game felt awesome. Going on the road and knocking off a top four team in our conference is a huge win for us, and it is helping us build to [what] we want to become postseason,” junior Tommy Gathje said.

The following night in Bismark, the Warriors faced off against the University of Mary Marauders. In the first few minutes of the game, Gathje make two baskets, taking the lead from the Marauders. The Warrior lead would remain theirs for the rest of the game.

With 12 minutes left in the first half, Jeffs added two more points to the board which sparked a 14-point Warrior run. University of Mary went on their own run at the end of the first half, but only closed the gap to a 33-26 Warrior lead.

“We need to remain focused on what we need to do to win the game. We are growing with each and every game, which is important with this team. We need to execute sets with detail and play with a ton of energy on the defensive end of the floor,” Jeffs said.

First-year Devin Whitelow and Jeffs each scored three-point shots to open the second half, increasing the Warrior lead to double digits. Gathje and Domask added points to the board with nine minutes remaining, increasing the Warrior lead to 19 points. A basket from the University of Mary decreased the Warrior lead to 66-58 with less than two minutes left. The Warriors played a good defensive game, forcing the Marauders into 16 turnovers which gave the men 23 points. The Saturday game was another victory for Winona State, 71-62.

The Warriors will be playing two home games this weekend against Minnesota State University Moorhead on Friday, Feb. 2 and Northern State University on Saturday, Feb. 3 in McCown Gymnasium.