Trailing by one with 1 minute, 57 seconds left to go, Jon Walburg hit a three-pointer to put No. 6-ranked Winona State ahead of Southwest Minnesota State 69-67.
And for the remainder of the game, the Warriors defense held down the Mustangs' offense to secure the victory.
SMSU's offense was 0-for-3 from the field and was 1 of 3 from the free-throw line down the stretch as the Warriors held on for a 69-68 home victory in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.
On Dec. 16, Winona State came out with a 79-72 victory in Marshall, but on Saturday, Mustangs head coach Brad Bigler said his team had more opportunities this time around. But at the end, SMSU just couldn't capitalize.
"We had more opportunities to get the lead at the end. But we missed free throws, we missed a six footer," Bigler said. "We had our chances."
Down by one, the Mustangs drew up the final play to Nick Smith, hoping that he or Jordan Miller could get set up for the last shot. But the defense swarmed on Smith, forcing him into a half-court heave that missed.
"We had to draw up a play and go full court with two seconds left. The plan was to get Nick Smith in the middle with Jordan as an option for a quick catch and shoot," Bigler said. "Winona defended it well and forced Nick to shoot, and he did get a decent look."
The Warriors (14-1 NSIC, 19-2 overall) won their eighth straight and now own a two-game lead in the NSIC after Augustana knocked off St. Cloud State on Saturday.
Smith and Miller were SMSU's catalysts on offense, as both finished with 17 points. Miller was 6 of 9 shooting, while Smith also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in the loss. Smith also finished with three blocks.
"Jordan wasn't forcing the issue, he let the game come to him," Bigler said. "He played a very effective game.
"Nick has been really efficient over the last month," Bigler added. "We're looking for him to continue to make those plays, getting some action to the rim and going to his jump hook."
Going 1-3 on its four-game road trip, SMSU (9-6, 10-9) returns home on Friday and Saturday, hosting Wayne State and Augustana.
"This weekend is a big one with seven games left in the season," Bigler said. "We don't have so many opportunities left. This will be a great home stretch for us. We'll be good, it'll just be a matter of coming out hard."
SMSU (68)
Jordan Miller 6-9 1-2 17, Nick Smith 7-13 2-3 17, Matt Zager 3-7 2-2 8, Will Giddings 2-4 2-2 7, Vinard Birch 1-8 0-0 2, Casey Sussenguth 2-6 2-3 6, Tramel Barnes 1-3 2-2 4, Lavione West 1-2 2-2 4, Trent Carlson 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 24-54 13-16 68. Three-Pointers 7-12 (Miller 4-5) Rebounds 37 (Smith 9) Assists 12 (Barnes 4) Steals 6 (Giddings 2) Blocks 4 (Smith 3) Turnovers 16 Total Fouls 20.
Winona State (69)
Xavier Humphrey 3-8 4-6 11, Clayton Vette 3-7 3-5 9, Taylor Cameron 2-10 4-5 8, Kellen Taylor 3-11 0-2 7, CJ Erickson 1-3 0-0 2, Jon Walburg 7-12 0-0 17, Zander Culver 3-9 6-6 13, Joel Armstrong 1-2 0-0 2, Skyler O'Laughlin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-62 17-24 69. Three-Pointers 6-20 (Walburg 3-5) Rebounds 40 (Vette 9) Assists 10 Steals 10 (Taylor 3) Blocks 6 (Erickson 3) Turnovers 10 Total Fouls 15.
Halftime Score: Winona State 34, SMSU 33.