Box Score

ABERDEEN, S.D. – A hot-shooting Winona State University team cooled the jets of the host Northern State University Wolves Saturday evening, as the Warriors raced out to a 22-3 lead to open the game en-route to a 76-65 victory over NSU in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball action.  The Warriors drained 11 three-pointers on the night while keeping pace with the Wolves in the paint to open up the game.

With the win, the Warriors (10-2, 4-1 NSIC) extended their win streak to four straight and have now won six of their last seven games.  NSU slipped to 4-8 overall and 0-5 in league action.

The Warriors were led in scoring by senior David Johnson, who had 18 points on the night, all of which came in the first half.  Johnson drained a trio of 3-point buckets in the Warriors' opening run, including one on what proved to be a 4-point play, drawing a foul and sinking the ensuing free throw to give the Warriors a 12-0 lead.

NSU did not get on the scoreboard until the 16:04 mark, when the Warriors committed a substitution technical foul, sending NSU senior Mitch Boeck to the free throw line.  Boeck drained one of two free tosses – his first miss from the line this season – to put the Wolves on the board.

Freshman Marko Filipovic followed with a lay-up to make it a 12-3 contest before WSU ripped off a 10-0 tear on three straight buckets by Johnson to re-take control of the game.

The Wolves would fight their way back to within nine at the 6:53 mark on a pair of free throws from sophomore point guard Tramel Barnes that made it 29-20.  That, however, would be as close as the Wolves would get for the duration of the game. 

WSU put together another 16-3 run to close out the first half, then returned to score the first two baskets of the second stanza and were never seriously threatened after.

Sophomore Alex Thomas finished with 17 points and seven rebounds to lead the way for the Wolves in both categories.  The 17-point effort – which came by way of 3-for-6 shooting from long range – was just one shy of his career best.  Redshirt freshman Collin Pryor joined him on the boards, also finishing with seven, including four off the offensive glass.

Winona's Clayton Vette and Xavier Humphrey also reached the double-digit threshold for the Warriors, adding 11 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench.  All told, the Warriors drained 53.6 percent (29-for-54) of their attempts from the floor, including 55.0 percent (11-for-20) from long range.

The Wolves countered with a 33.9 percent (21-for-62) effort on the night and were just 8-for-22 (36.4 percent) from 3-point range.

NSU will look to rebound tomorrow as they take on Upper Iowa in a 6 p.m. match-up.  The Peacocks fell 71-85 at the University of Mary on Saturday.