Box Score

MARSHALL, Minn. –  Winona State drilled 15 3-pointers with Kyle Bauman scoring a game-high 22 points as the Warriors earned a 77-69 victory over Southwest Minnesota State in NSIC men's basketball on Saturday night at the R/A Facility.
 
It's the fourth straight game and the seventh time this season an SMSU opponent has made 10 or more 3-pointers in a game. WSU finished the game shooting 48 percent from 3-point range (15 of 31).
 
WSU (6-8, 5-5 NSIC) snapped a three-game losing with the victory and earned its second win over SMSU this season. WSU earned an 86-75 win over SMSU on Dec. 4 in Winona, Minn., making 14 of 25 3-point attempts.
 
SMSU (8-7, 4-6 NSIC) suffered its third straight loss, its longest losing streak of the season. Mitch Weg and Joey Bartlett each scored 11 points for the Mustangs, while Carter Kirk recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
WSU shot 46 percent (25 of 54) from the field and was 12 of 19 from the free throw line. SMSU finished the game shooting 40 percent (19 of 47) and were just 4 of 20 on 3-pointers. SMSU held a 36-32 rebound advantage.
 
Winona State stormed out of the gate jumping to a 20-4 lead in the opening seven minutes connecting on four 3-pointers.
 
SMSU answered back with a 14-0 run over the next four minutes to close the deficit to 20-18, with seven points coming from Bartlett.
 
Following a Michael Lee 3-pointer with 8:05 remaining in the half to cut WSU's lead to 22-21, the Warriors drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead to 28-21.
 
WSU, which connected on 8 of 12 3-pointers in the opening half, held a 36-25 lead with 2:13 left in the half, before SMSU closed the half on an 8-2 run to make the score 38-33 at halftime.
 
SMSU shot 40 percent from the field in the first half and made 14 of 19 free throws. WSU finished shooting 42 percent in the opening half with eight of its 11 field goals from long-range.
 
SMSU committed 11 turnovers in the opening half leading to 15 points for WSU.  
 
WSU was able to maintain a double digit lead for much of the second half and held off every SMSU comeback attempt.
 
Kirk scored with 10 minutes left in the game to make the score 61-52, but WSU put the game away with an 8-2 run over the next two minutes to build a 69-54 lead and were never threatened again. 
 
Southwest Minnesota State heads to the road next Friday, Jan. 15, in Aberdeen, S.D., taking on Northern State starting at 8 p.m.