Winona State Men's Basketball Falls to St. Edward's in Hawaii Classic

Winona State Men’s Basketball Falls to St. Edward’s in Hawaii Classic

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Honolulu brought high-intensity basketball and a bitter pill for Winona State on Sunday evening, as the Warriors dropped a hard-fought 72-65 decision to St. Edward’s in the final game of the Hoops in Hawaii Classic.

Winona State athletic reports show the Warriors slipped to a 1-2 record to open their campaign, while the Hilltoppers improved to 2-1 and evened the all-time series between the two programs at one win apiece. Kaiden Space carried the offensive load for Winona State with 13 points, shooting an efficient 6-of-10 from the field, but a decisive second-half surge by St. Edward’s ultimately kept the Warriors at bay in the island finale.

Swinging Momentum on the Island

The contest opened with both squads trading blows before the Hilltoppers carved out an early 9-5 advantage. Winona State clawed right back. Nick Taylor dropped a layup to narrow the gap to a single point, and a steady 7-2 run midway through the first frame leveled the score. Alessandro Tonelli eventually pushed the Warriors ahead with a crisp pull-up jumper, allowing WSU to carry a narrow 33-32 edge into the locker room.

That momentum vanished shortly after the break. St. Edward’s engineered a decisive 11-1 blitz over a four-minute stretch in the second half, transforming a tight contest into a 49-41 deficit for the Warriors with 13:35 remaining. Ryan Heise answered with a deep 3-pointer, and aggressive drives to the rim by Luke Haertle and Gavyn Hurley quickly sliced the lead back down. Hurley knotted the score at 54-54 with a jumper approaching the 10-minute mark.

Yet every time Winona State threatened to pull away, the Hilltoppers had an answer. St. Edward’s strung together another crucial 5-0 run to push ahead 64-58 with just 4:34 left on the clock, eventually stretching the margin to 11 points. A late five-point push by the Warriors proved too little, too late, as the Hilltoppers iced the game at the free-throw line.

Box Score Breakdown and What Lies Ahead

Winona State finished the tournament in sixth place overall, showing plenty of grit despite the sub-.500 record. The Warriors shot 43.9 percent from the floor, connecting on 25 of 57 attempts, and managed to edge St. Edward’s 37-34 on the glass.

Aside from Space’s team-high 13 points, Heise contributed a well-rounded stat line with 11 points and seven rebounds. Hurley dominated the paint for the Warriors, pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds to anchor the interior defense.

With the Hawaiian excursion in the rear-view mirror, winonastatewarriors.com notes that the team now turns its attention toward the mainland. Winona State will return to competitive action on Friday, November 13, traveling to Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, to face Michigan Tech with tipoff scheduled for 3 p.m.

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