There were 21.9 seconds to play when the chant began pouring down from the Williams Arena upper deck.
"D-2's better. D-2's better," the purple-clad Winona State students chanted.
On this night, it certainly was.
The Gophers men's basketball team knew Wednesday night's exhibition game was going to be a difficult one. Winona State, after all, is the defending NCAA Division II national champion. But did the Gophers truly believe they would lose? Did fans think the horn would sound and the scoreboard would read Winona State 69, Gophers 64?
That's exactly what happened. Apparently Winona State didn't get the memo that it was supposed to lose.
"Honestly, we just really wanted to make a game of it," Winona State coach Mike Leaf said.
Entering Wednesday night's game, a Gophers team filled with newcomers was still very much in the feeling-out process. Winona State, however, had four returning starters and a handful of returning players.
It showed.
And while this was only an exhibition game, the result certainly raises questions about this Gophers team as it prepares for Monday's regular-season opener against North Dakota State.
"They deserved to win, and I'm glad I don't have to count that game and we can move on," Gophers coach Dan Monson said.
"It's got to be a positive in that regard as far as a learning experience."
Rebounding and physical play are the two biggest areas of concern.
"If we're going to get outrebounded 40-27, we'll lose every game this year, maybe win a couple," Gophers center Spencer Tollackson said.
"That can't happen. You can't compete, especially in the Big Ten, and get pounded on the boards like that."
Said Monson: "We've got to understand that we're 0-0, and we've got an opportunity to learn from [the loss] and move on."
Trailing 30-27 at the half, the Gophers made runs at Winona State in the second half and twice took the lead. But Winona State -- which already has a victory this season over another Division I school, Drake -- never panicked and looked like the more composed team.
When Winona State's Zach Malvik took the ball to the basket and beat the shot clock with 8 minutes, 24 seconds to play, the Warriors led 50-48 and wouldn't trail again.
The Gophers struggled to get anything going offensively and went more than five minutes without a field goal.
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