WINONA, Minn. —- It came down to the closing seconds Thursday evening, but it was #16 Minnesota State that managed to come away with its eighth win of the season as it bested Winona State 74-71 on the road.

With the win, MSU improves to 8-0, including a 2-0 NSIC record. With the loss, WSU drops to 5-2, including a 0-2 conference record.

Winona State controlled the pace early on as it built an 18-5 lead with 10:58 to go in the half. A couple of three pointers from senior Trevor Moore and sophomore Kyreese Willingham brought the Mavericks back to within nine at 20-11 at the midpoint of the opening stanza.

The Warriors would eventually build a 13-point lead at 33-20 with 2:43 to go in the half. The Mavericks would outscore the Warriors 10-2 to finish the half, including five points from sophomore Brady Williams, to cut WSU's lead to five at 35-30 before heading into halftime.

Moore led the Mavericks in the first half with nine points as he connected on 3-of-3 shots from downtown. Williams added seven points also. As a team, MSU shot 42.9% from the field in the first half.

Luke Martens led the Warriors in the first half with 10 points and five rebounds. Connor Dillon netted seven points as well, while WSU shot 50.0% from the field in the opening stanza.

The first two minutes of the second half saw MSU open on an 8-2 run to take its first lead of the game at 38-37. The lead would change hands four time over the next few minutes as the Mavericks led by six at 58-52 with 9:58 to go.

The score remained within single-digits the rest of the way as the Warriors managed to get back within one of the Mavericks at 69-68 with 1:06 to go. A layup from Williams and a free thrown from junior Malik Willingham put MSU back up by four with :20 seconds left.

A three pointer from WSU's Dillon then cut MSU's lead to one at 72-71. With seven seconds left the Warriors were forced to foul as sophomore Harrison Braudis went to the line. Braudis hit both to put MSU up 74-71. Dillon attempted a three to force overtime but it missed the mark as the Mavericks came away with the 74-71 win.

Moore led all scorers with 23 points as he connected on 6-of-9 shots from downtown. Williams notched a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Kyreese Willingham tallied 15 points.

As a team, MSU shot 44.3% from the field and 42.9% from downtown.

Dillon led the Warriors with 21 points, while Martens notched 19 points and nine rebounds.

As a team, WSU shot 40.3% from the field.

Minnesota State continues its season this Saturday as it takes on Upper Iowa. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m., at Taylor Center.

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