Dillon Hogan/Winonan

The Winona State University men’s basketball team concluded the regular season with one win and one loss over the weekend.

The Warriors used solid production from the entire team to take down Wayne State 75-57 on Feb. 21. The Warriors jumped ahead 38-26 in the opening half, paced by Kellen Taylor’s eight points and eight rebounds.

The Warrior defense in the first half held Wayne State to a shooting percentage of 28. Not ready to ease up on Wayne State, the Warriors played well in the second half to end any chance of a Wayne State comeback.

The Warriors never lost their double-digit lead, while leading by as many as 24 points with under five minutes left to play. As a team, the Warriors shot 44 percent with four Warriors reaching double-digit scoring led by Riley Bambenek’s 15 points.

Taylor notched his ninth double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds while going 3-6 from the field and 7-8 from the free throw line. Joining Taylor and Bambenek with double-digit points were Josh Mongan, who scored a career-high 13 points, and Mark Blacklock, who added ten points of his own.

On defense the Warriors held Wayne State to a 35.8 shooting percentage and recorded seven blocked shots on the night. Following the game, the Warriors had a 23-5 overall record and an 18-3 record in the NSIC. The Warriors remained tied with Minnesota State for first place in the NSIC. The 23 Warrior victories also tied the 1972-73 Warriors for the eight most wins in school history.

In the regular season finale the Warriors faced Augustana. Despite a close game throughout, the Warriors could not end the season on a winning note, dropping the game by a score of 79-70.

A 33-27 lead at the half was slowly taken down by Augustana in the second. With under ten minutes left to play, Augustana took a 51-49 lead. In the last ten minutes of the game there were five lead changes and four ties, the last of which occurred when Bambenek connected on a layup with two minutes remaining. From there, Augustana responded by scoring the next eight points to build a lead the Warriors could not come back from.

The Warrior defense recorded 11 steals as a team with Bambenek and Conrad Masberg each taking four steals. On offense the Warriors were led by Bambenek who led both the Warriors and all scorers with 22 points, his ninth 20-point performance of the season.

The Warriors had only one other player reach double-digit points with Blacklock scoring ten points while also snagging seven rebounds. Also adding to the Warriors’ offense were Taylor’s nine point eight-rebound performance and both Kyle Bauman and Isaiah Gray, each contributing eight points.

As a team the Warriors shot 43 percent from the floor, but struggled mightily from beyond the arc, going just 5-23 from 3-point range. Augustana shot 42 percent from 3-point range and 45 percent from the floor overall.

The Warriors ended the regular season with a 23-6 overall record and an 18-4 record in the NSIC. The Warriors will return to action with the first postseason game today, in Winona, hosting Minot State.