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In the postseason, the latter is all that truly matters.
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WSU's John Smith pulls up for a shot during the Warriors' semi-final game of the NSIC tournament agaisnt the Wayne State Wildcats Friday at McCown Gymnasium. (Photo by Andrew Link/Winona Daily News) |
The Warriors rebounded from a poor start and came away with a 71-62 victory over Wayne State (Neb.) in front of 3,163 fans at McCown Gymnasium.
With the win, its 25th in a row this season, WSU (31-1) advances to the championship game of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament.
The top-seeded Warriors will face No. 2 seed Northern State (27-2) at 7 p.m. tonight. The Wolves edged Southwest Minnesota State 74-70 in the first semifinal.
“It seemed like we were sluggish a little bit out there,” WSU senior guard Jonte Flowers said. “Some of our normal shots didn’t fall, but you’re going to have games like that.
“It’s one of those things you just have to overcome, and that’s what we did tonight. We stepped up at the right time. That comes from experience.”
WSU trailed by as many as eight points in the early going, falling behind 20-12 midway through the first half. The Warriors missed 15 of their first 19 shots.
Wayne State (16-13) held the lead until the final few minutes of the half. WSU’s first lead came on a three-point play by John Smith with 2:13 remaining.
The Warriors led just 35-31 at halftime against a team they beat by 34 and 22 points during the regular season.
“Wayne got to this point by playing some tough, hard-nosed basketball,” WSU coach Mike Leaf said. “We have the four best teams in the NSIC here competing.
“I knew it was going to be a battle. Wayne had great athletes on their team who can score. They battled hard and played a heck of a basketball game.”
The Warriors got back into the game and got the lead primarily because of their defense.
Late in the first half they started to apply full-court pressure, which turned into some transition baskets.
Still in a tight game with 6½ minutes to play, the Warriors finally grabbed control with a 9-0 run.
Flowers’ three-point play with 4:36 remaining gave WSU a 60-51 lead. Moments later, Flowers hit a short jumper for a 62-51 lead.
“We started to pick it up more with some full-court pressure and that kind of created some energy with the team,” Flowers said. “We got that spark and just took off from there.”
Flowers missed his first five shots, but like the Warriors, he finished strong. He made 9 of 19 shots and had a game-high 26 points.
Smith added 17 for the third-ranked Warriors, who will face Northern State for the third time this season.
WSU won the first two matchups and is the only team to beat the No. 4-ranked Wolves (27-2) this season.
The Warriors have won the past eight meetings — all the past three seasons — and are looking for their third consecutive NSIC tournament title.
“It seems like this is an annual thing,” Smith said. “They are playing great basketball and have been all season. So have we, so it should be a great game.”
