WINONA, Minn. – No. 6 Winona State held off a pair of Southwest Minnesota State go-ahead field goals in the final 10 seconds to earn a thrilling 69-68 victory on Saturday night in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball.

Trailing 69-68 with 13 seconds left in the game, SMSU had the ball with a chance to take the lead, but Matt Zager missed a shot and WSU came away with the rebound with three seconds on the clock.  WSU's Kellen Taylor missed two free throws and SMSU grabbed the rebound with 2.2 seconds remaining.  Following two timeouts, SMSU's Nick Smith launched a 3-pointer from just inside the half-court line, but the shot missed right and WSU held on for its eight straight win.

WSU (19-2, 14-1 NSIC) now has a two-game lead in the NSIC standings over St. Cloud State.  The victory for WSU was its 19th in the last 20 meetings versus SMSU (10-9, 9-6 NSIC).

Jordan Miller and Nick Smith each scored 17 points to pace the Mustangs, with Miller connecting on 6 of 9 shots with four 3-pointers.  Smith made 7 of 13 field goals and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. 

SMSU trailed 66-62 with 2:56 left in the game, but the Mustangs countered with a pair of free throws by Tramel Barnes and then a go-ahead 3-pointer by Miller with 2:10 on the clock to make the score 67-66. 

WSU's Jon Walburg then hit the biggest shot of the game on the ensuing possession, drilling a 3-pointer with 1:57 remaining to give the Warriors a 69-67 advantage.

Miller hit one of two free throws with 48 seconds left in the game to make the score 69-68, before SMSU forced a turnover with 25 seconds remaining on a steal by Casey Sussenguth.  Sussenguth was fouled on the play, but he missed the ensuing free throw to keep the deficit at 69-68. 

WSU missed a free throw with 23 seconds remaining give SMSU another chance at the lead, but Zager missed the potential go-ahead field goal with under 10 seconds on the clock.

Winona State started the game strong, building a 20-8 lead with 12 minutes left in the first half after a field goal by Taylor Cameron.

SMSU would slowly cut into the deficit and trimmed the WSU lead to 28-27 with 4:14 on the clock on a Zager lay-up.  SMSU would eventually take its first lead of the half at 33-32 with 39 seconds remaining on a Barnes basket, but the Warriors would close the half with a basket and take a 34-33 halftime lead.

Walburg led WSU with 17 points and five rebounds and drilled a team-high three 3-pointers. 

SMSU finished the game shooting 44.4 percent from the field (25 of 54) with seven 3-pointers in 12 attempts.  WSU held a 40-37 rebound edge and outscored SMSU 15-6 in second chance points.  The Warriors ended the game shooting 37.1 percent (23 of 62), including 6 of 20 from 3-point range.

SMSU returns home next Friday, Feb. 3, to take on Wayne State (5-14, 4-11 NSIC) with tip-off set for 8 p.m. at the R/A Facility.