MANKATO, Minn. – Grant Johnson hit a jumper with 20 seconds remaining in overtime to help lift the Winona State men’s basketball team to a 76-73 victory in the championship game of the NCAA Central Region Tournament Tuesday in Mankato.

The Warriors will now move on to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Louisville, Kentucky. WSU will play West Liberty at 4:30 pm on March 28.

Xavier Humphrey drove the lane with 26 seconds remaining in regulation and the Warriors down three, getting the layup and drawing the foul. The senior knocked down the free throw to tie the contest at 64 and send the game into overtime.

Once there both teams traded baskets until Johnson’s winning shot put WSU up 74-73. Humphrey iced the game with a pair of free throws with five seconds to play, sending the Warriors to the Elite Eight for the fourth time in school history.

Winona State is now 4-0 in NCAA Region Championship games, also winning the regional championship in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Both teams played extremely hard, trading baskets and leads throughout. The lead changed 20 times during the game, with the largest advantage a six point Warrior lead with 13:25 to go in regulation.

Clayton Vette led all scorers with 22 points as five Warriors reached double figures scoring. Vette hit 9-of-16 shots from the floor while also grabbing six rebounds and was named the regional tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

Taylor Cameron ended the game with 15 points and eight rebounds while Kellen Taylor and Johnson each scored 11.

Humphrey scored 13 points in the game, becoming the 34th player in Winona State history to reach the 1,000 point mark. The senior now has 1,011 points in his Warrior career.

Winona State is now 27-7 on the season, the fourth-most wins in a year in program history.

Tuesday’s regional final game was played in front of 4,137 fans, the third-highest attendance number ever at the Taylor Center in Mankato.