Second Half Run Lifts No. 3 Winona State to Victory over SMSU

Box Score

MARSHALL, MINN.: No. 3 Winona State University used a 17-2 run early in the second half to erase a Southwest Minnesota State lead never looked back in earning a 72-54 Northern Sun Conference victory on Saturday night in Marshall.

The victory was WSU's 19th straight this season and its 44th straight conference win dating back to Jan. 13, 2006. WSU's John Smith led all scorers on the night with 24 points on 8 of 11 shooting while also grabbing six rebounds and recording four blocked shots. Smith now has 2,057 career points and is now three shy of becoming the school's all-time scoring leader.

SMSU struggled shooting the ball in the first half connecting on just 6 of 28 shots (21.4) but did make three three-pointers and finished 9 of 10 from the free throw line. Despite the cold shooting SMSU trailed just 29-24 at halftime.

The early stages of the second half was all SMSU as the Mustangs scored the first seven points to take a 31-29 lead with 17:54 remaining in the game. Travis Krenske hit a jumper with 17:14 remaining to give SMSU a 33-32 lead but that was SMSU's last lead of the night. SMSU, with the home crowd on its side, forced a WSU missed shot had a chance to build the lead but Kevin Andrews missed a three-pointer and following the shot SMSU was called for foul and that changed the momentum and that's all WSU needed in going on its game changing run. WSU, which shot 37.5 percent from the field in the first half, was red-hot in the second half drilling 16 of 29 attempts (55.2).

Southwest Minnesota State finished the night shooting 34.7 percent (17 of 49) from the field including 5 of 14 (35.7) from three-point range. Winona State ended the game connecting on 25 of 53 shots (47.2) including 6 of 12 from behind the arc.

Winona State is now 25-1 overall, 14-0 NSIC and maintains its two-game lead in the loss column over Northern State. SMSU, ranked 10th in the North Central Region, falls to 14-10 overall, 9-6 NSIC. SMSU is now back into a tie with Wayne State which earned a one-point win on Saturday night over Upper Iowa.

SMSU and Wayne State will play a critical NSIC game next weekend in Marshall. The two teams meets at 8 p.m. at the R/A Facility.

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