Box Score MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University ran into one of the strongest – and deepest – teams in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Saturday.

Winona State pushed to a 10-point lead early in the first half and steadily increased that over the course of the game, topping Minot State 84-55 in NSIC men's basketball Saturday at the Minot State Dome.

“The biggest challenge in this league is that there are no easy nights,” said MISU head coach Matt Murken. “You are going to be tested every weekend. Sometimes you play a good team on Friday night, and turn around have to face an equally tough team Saturday; that's what we ran into this weekend. So against competition like this, you can't take plays off and if you do, you get beat badly.”

The Beavers (4-9 overall, 3-6 NSIC) cut the Warriors lead to six with a 3-pointer by Thomas Korf (So., F, St. Cloud, Minn.) with just over six minutes to play in the first half. But Winona State (13-3, 7-2) pushed the lead back to double figures and led by 15 at the half.

Minot State never got closer than 13 after that.

“The good news is that when we do compete the whole game and we do execute to our ability we can play with these teams,” Murken said. “We can hold teams to below 35 percent shooting like we did last weekend – that led to two victories. This weekend, it was the exact opposite. We didn't compete the whole game and we didn't execute. We need to believe in our defense again and that will set the tone for our team going forward.”

The Warriors depth was on display as they outscored Minot State 48-6 in bench points and their muscle was evident in a 34-26 lead in points in the paint.

WSU's Grant Johnson was a big part of the bench scoring as he hit for a game-high 23 points off the bench. Clayton Vette added 17 points and nine rebounds in as solid all-around game. Zander Culver (12 points) and Xavier Humphrey (10) also scored in double figures for the Warriors.

E.J. Williams (Jr., G, Raleigh, N.C.) finished with 15 points and five rebounds to lead Minot State. Kelvin Fraser (Sr., F, Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 11 points and pulled down three offensive rebounds and Dominique McDonald (Fr., G, Raleigh, N.C.) finished with 10 points and three assists for Minot State. Chris East (Jr., G, Toronto, Ontario) pulled down eight rebounds to go along with four points for the Beavers.

The Beavers will look to stop a two-game losing streak and earn their first NSIC home win as they battle the University of Mary at the Minot State Dome Tuesday at 8 p.m. It will be a short week for Minot State as the Beavers also travel to Wayne State College Friday and Augustana College Saturday in NSIC road play.