BOX SCORE
WINONA, Minn. – Winona State rallied from a seven-point deficit with three and a half minutes left in the game to earn a thrilling 69-67 victory over Southwest Minnesota State on Friday night in Winona, Minn. WSU (11-3 overall, 5-2 NSIC) scored the game's last eight points in the final two minutes to earn its 15th straight victory over SMSU (8-4 overall, 3-3 NSIC).
WSU's Ben Fischer scored the go-ahead field goal with 21 seconds left to give the Warriors a 68-67 lead. On SMSU's ensuing possession, DeAnthony Zanders was called for a turnover with 11 seconds left giving the ball back to WSU. Fischer then hit 1 of 2 free throws with 11 seconds left to give SMSU one last chance to tie or win the game but a shot by Zanders with less than a second remaining in the game was blocked with 0.2 seconds remained. SMSU's last chance to tie the game with a tip-in at the buzzer was intercepted and WSU earned the victory over SMSU. SMSU's last victory in the series came during the 2002-03 season.
SMSU finished the night shooting 50 percent from the field (30 of 60) and dominated WSU on the boards, finishing with a 40-22 rebound advantage, but SMSU committed 18 turnovers and was just 2 of 5 from the free throw line. WSU was able to connect on 15 of 18 free throws and turned the ball over just 11 times.
Scott Roehl led SMSU with a game-high 20 points on a tremendous 10 of 11 shooting from the field, while also collecting six rebounds. Taylor Huseby was the only other Mustang to score in double figures with 12 points on 6 of 10 shooting.
SMSU started the game strong jumping out to a 10-2 lead with Scott Roehl scoring the first eight points of the game for the Mustangs. SMSU extended the lead to 13-4 with 16 minutes and 45 seconds left in the half before the Warriors rallied to take it first lead of the game at 24-23 with 8:23 left on a field goal and free throw by Ben Fischer.
The game remained close for the next three minutes and was tied at 28-28 with 5:35 remaining before SMSU regained the lead with three straight field goals, including two by Taylor Huseby to give SMSU a 34-28 lead with 4:22 on the clock.
WSU answered with four straight points before SMSU answered once again with back-to-back three-pointers by Jordan Miller to extend the lead to 40-32 with 1:30 left in the half. The Warriors countered with six straight points to end the half and cut the SMSU lead to 40-38 at halftime.
The Mustangs were red-hot from the field connecting on 17 of 29 field goals, including 4 of 8 from three-point range. SMSU held a 19-10 rebound advantage in the opening half but committed eight turnovers which led to 10 WSU points. WSU was also able to get to the free throw line making 8 of 10 shots, compared to just 2 of 4 for SMSU.
Much like the first half, SMSU began the second half strong and used an 8-0 early in the half to build a 55-44 lead with 14:48 left in the game. WSU wouldn't go away and limited SMSU to just two points over the six and a half minutes to cut the Mustang lead to 57-56 with eight minutes left in the game.
The Mustang defense then took over and went on a 6-0 run and held WSU scoreless for nearly six minutes to build a 63-56 lead before the Warriors ended the scoreless string with a pair of free throws with 3:20 left to trim the lead to 63-58. SMSU would maintain the lead and hold a 67-61 lead with 1:59 left before WSU closed the game out with eight straight points to earn the victory.
David Johnson led WSU with 14 points, while Fisched finished with 12 points and eight assists.
Southwest Minnesota State will conclude its four-game road trip tomorrow night taking on Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa, starting at 8 p.m.
