Late comeback falls short in men's basketball loss to Winona State, 78-70

Sunday, March 2

Sioux Falls, S.D.

2:30 p.m.

St. Cloud State

20-8

Winona State University

25-6

St. Cloud State

Winona State

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Thursday, April 09

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Team Stats

SCSU

WSU

FG%

.327

.467

3FG%

.259

.333

FT%

.871

.739

STL

Late comeback falls short in men's basketball loss to Winona State, 78-70

3/2/2014 5:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Sioux Falls, S.D.- A late comeback fell short and Winona State University went on to defeat St. Cloud State, 78-70, in the quarterfinals of the NSIC Sanford Health Tournament at the Sanford Pentagon on Sunday afternoon in Sioux Falls.

St. Cloud State is 20-8 overall. Winona State is 25-6 overall and will play MSU Moorhead on Monday afternoon in the tournament semifinals.

The Huskies were trailing the Warriors 64-49 with 7:15 left in the second half when they went on a 19-7 run to close the gap to 72-68 with 1:25 left in the game. The run ended on a three from first year guard Scottie Stone (Melrose) that he followed with a steal that eventually turned into a made basket for senior guard Damarius Cruz (Plymouth). After a pair of free throws by Winona State's Josh Mongan, Cruz followed with a layup and the Warriors lead was 74-70 with :25 seconds remaining. A basket and a pair of Winona State free throws determined the final score.

"I'm really proud of this team. They competed and showed some toughness," said head coach Kevin Schlagel.

Stone finished the game with a season high 14 points as he made five –of-nine field goal attempts and two three-point baskets. He also equaled season highs of five rebounds and three steals.

Cruz led the Huskies with 17 points and made three baskets from beyond the arc. He added three assists and three steals. Senior forward Matt Craggs (Kimberly, Wis.) added ten points and eight rebounds.

Winona State was led by NSIC freshman of the year Riley Bambenek, as he scored a game high 23 points. Kellen Taylor had eight rebounds for the Warriors and four assists.

The Warriors shot 46.7 percent from the field and made 17-of-23 free throws. After out-rebounding the Huskies 24-15 in the first half, WSU ended the game with a slight 37-35 rebounding advantage.

Winona State led 36-29 at the half and scored 44 points in the paint. There were seven ties and five lead changes in the game.

The Huskies, ranked eighth in the NCAA Division II Central Region this week will await the NCAA announcement on March 9.