January 2, 1939
#1 Winona State (13-1, 0-0) @ Minnesota State (8-5, 0-0)
Steve Booth should return to action in time for our Saginaw Valley State matchup two weeks from tonight, which could be a real battle. We, meanwhile, opened the conference season on the road tonight against Minnesota State, and we dominated early en route to a 24-16 lead with 8:43 to play. They fought back down the stretch to within four points, but with 3:55 to go we’d rebuilt our lead to 38-27, and we coasted to halftime up 50-34 over the Mavericks. They scored the first three points of the second half but we scored the next 14, leading 64-40 with 14:58 to play. From there it was just taking care of business as we left the Mavericks in our dust 89-64.
Player of the Game: Anthony Soward (35 pts 3 reb 2 ast)
Honorable Mention: Rickey James (20 pts 15 reb 2 ast 4 blk)
January 5, 1939
Concordia-St. Paul (7-5, 1-0) @ #1 Winona State (14-1, 1-0)
The Golden Bears kept up with us early, but we broke away midway through the first half, leading 18-13 with 12:15 to play. We took control firmly from there, leading 50-32 at the half, and we held them off nicely from there. This one went into the books as an easy win, 93-71.
Eddie Dunleavy, however, continues to have the worst luck from an injury standpoint. He’s out potentially until the Conference Tournament thanks to a broken hand, which happened barely eight minutes into the first half. His Senior season is looking to be a wash, with just 10 starts in 11 appearances, though his GPA is solid and he’s considering his career options in the criminal justice field.
Player of the Game: Rickey James (27 pts 10 reb 1 ast 1 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Jerrance Smith (12 pts 2 reb 10 ast 1 blk) Kevin Young (19 pts 2 reb 1 ast)
Kevin Young, our 6’5” junior backup point guard, is going to move into the starting lineup as a shooting guard for the next couple games. We’ll be playing a lineup of Smith / Young / Soward / James / Greenleaf until we’re able to shuffle 6’1” guard Steve Booth back into the mix, at which point Young will go back to being our sixth man. These will be his first two starts ever.
Saginaw Valley State is now ranked #7 in the nation and on a 12-game winning streak. We face them on the 16th. Wayne State’s RPI remains 9th in the nation after they beat Sioux Falls and knocked them out of the rankings. Both Wayne State and Sioux Falls remain on the cusp of the top 25, and judging by the strength of our conference, should remain so.