ANAHEIM, Calif. – Clayton Vette scored a career-high 31 points as the Winona State men’s basketball team survived a late charge to beat Grand Canyon 66-64 in its season opener Friday afternoon at the Disney Classic.

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Grand Canyon had a shot to tie the game as time expired, but Braylon Pickrel’s shot rimmed out, allowing the Warriors to escape with the victory.

WSU had a nine point lead with 3:15 to play but Grand Canyon scored the next seven points to pull within two with 1:23 remaining. Jordan Fischer responded with a jumper to put WSU up by four with 1:02 left to play, but GCU hit a pair of free throws to move the Warrior advantage back to two.

A Warrior turnover with 29 seconds remaining gave Grand Canyon a final chance to tie or win the game, but a pair of shots rimmed out, lifting the Warriors to their 66-64 win.

Vette hit 12 of his 21 field goal attempts while also recording a double-double after grabbing 11 rebounds. His 31 points are three better than his previous career-high of 28 set last season at Bemidji State.

Zander Culver came off the bench to hit three 3-pointers on his way to 13 points while Xavier Humphrey added 11. Kellen Taylor recorded eight rebounds in the WSU victory with Taylor Cameron and Culver each handing out a team-high three assists.

Winona State shot 46 percent from the field on the game, but was able to make just four of its 14 attempts from behind the 3-point line.

The Warriors will return to the court tomorrow to play California State-Dominguez Hills. The game is set for a 6 pm CST start.