MANKATO, Minn. ---  The Minnesota State men's basketball team lost to the Winona State Warriors Friday night at the Taylor Center by a final score of 89-64.

Winona State attacked early and pushed out to an 10-2 lead over Minnesota State, scoring twice off of turnovers.  A 6-2 run from the Mavericks was fueled by their aggressive defense and transition offense but the ball had a hard time finding the bottom of the net as the Warriors pushed their lead to 17-10 with 9:57 remaining in the first half.  

During a cold shooting stretch for the Mavericks, senior Jon Fuqua was responsible for six straight points, all from the free throw line.  Winona State did a lot of their damage in the paint as they expanded their lead to 34-21 with 5:15 remaining in the first half. The hot shooting for the Warriors continued to the end of the half as Isiah Gray hit a layup with only a few seconds remaining, giving Winona State a 45-29 lead going into the half.

The shooting percentage for Winona State 76.9% in the first half was compared to 38.5% from Minnesota State.  

The Mavericks started strong in the second half getting a pair of early buckets, but the Warriors responded as Gray continued to find holes in the defense.  With 12:37 remaining in the second half the Mavericks went to line facing a 20-point deficit before making a pair of free throws to make the score 63-45.  

The Maverick defense went to a full court press with 8:47 remaining and trailing 51-69 and put a lot of pressure on the Warrior ball handlers, but they were able to break the press and find the holes in it forcing Minnesota State to revert to their normal defense.  The Mavericks were able to make several shots down the stretch, but with every basket made the Warriors were able to answer.  

The final score was Winona State 89 and Minnesota State 64.  The Mavericks ended the game shooting 37.1% compared to the Warriors 72%.  Fuqua led Minnesota State in scoring with 16 points and senior AJ Patty tallied eight rebounds.  Gray was unstoppable all night for the Warriors, scoring 26 points on 10-of-11 shooting. Gray also added seven rebounds and had four assists.  

With the loss, Minnesota State moves to 5-3 (1-2 NSIC) on the season and Winona State is now 4-3 (1-2 NSIC). The Mavericks will return to Taylor Center tomorrow to take on Upper Iowa. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.  
      
                                                                    -30-