SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Out of a halftime talk may have come the words that saved the season for the Winona State University men's basketball team.

Following one of the worst stretches in recent memory, the Warriors took note of their halftime pep talk and dug deep in the second half Wednesday night to pull off a victory over the top-ranked team in the country.

WSU knocked off previously undefeated Grand Valley State (Mich.) 67-54, advancing to the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Elite Eight at MassMutual Center.

The Warriors (36-1) will face Bentley (Mass.) at 7:30 p.m. today in the semifinals in a rematch of last season's first-round game. Bentley also is unbeaten and shares the No. 1 ranking in the country.

"We had a very good discussion as players at halftime and knew that last 10 minutes of the first half we just killed ourselves," said Winona State senior guard Jonte Flowers, a former Madison La Follette athlete who had 29 points and five steals and joined former high school teammate Quincy Henderson (10 points, 11 rebounds) in leading the way for the Warriors.

 "We just kept talking and at one point we said, 'You know what? Don't worry about the past, don't worry about the future. Just live in the moment and live it fearlessly."

 Those words produced a focused and energized WSU team in the second half. It wasn't but two minutes into the second half that the Warriors had erased the five-point halftime deficit and tied the game 31-31.

 WSU made its four of its first six shots after halftime, grabbing the lead for good on a rebound and follow by Flowers with 16:25 remaining.

 That quick start helped erase the memory of the end of the first half. After jumping to a 24-11 lead in the game's first eight minutes, the Warriors did not score the final 11:41 of the first half.

 Against the best defensive team in the country, WSU missed 13 shots, two free throws and turned the ball over 10 times during that stretch. Grand Valley State (36-1) took advantage, scoring the final 18 points of the half for a 29-24 lead.

 "I kept looking up at the scoreboard and seeing 24 points," WSU coach Mike Leaf said. "We pressed ourselves after they started to make their run. It's frustrating at the time, but at halftime I told our guys we didn't score a point for 10 minutes and we were only down (five).

 "We've been in that situation before and we know we can't dwell on the past. You have to move forward and we went out and did the things we do in practice. We went out there and executed."

 It marked the first time in 18 games the Warriors trailed at halftime. They were down 32-22 at Minnesota State-Moorhead on Jan. 11 but came back to win 64-59.

 WSU also struggled in the first half of the regional semifinals and final, leading at Nebraska-Omaha by one point and Northern State by three.

 "The first half we started out hot and we let them come back," WSU senior forward John Smith said. "We learned from our mistake and kept it going in the second half. After we got the lead, we wouldn't let them come back and that was key."

 The Warriors also clamped down on defense, limiting the Lakers to just 25 second-half points. Grand Valley State made just eight of 25 shots after halftime and shot just 35.7 percent for the game, including 2-for-19 from 3-point range for a team that ranked eighth in the country.

 The Warriors also held sharp-shooting guard Jason Jamerson to 14 points of 5-of-17 shooting. Callistus Eziukwu scored 19 points and Justin Ringler added 15 for the Lakers.

 "They came out the second half the aggressor and I don't think we were ever able to get into any kind of offensive flow," Grand Valley State coach Ric Wesley said. "Their defense had us on our heels and made it tough for us.

 "We give them a lot of credit. They were a better team than us today. That hasn't happened to us in a while."

 The Warriors pushed their lead to 50-40 with 8:45 to play before the Lakers put together one more rally. A dunk by Eziukwu cut the lead to 50-46, but Smith followed about a minute later with a dunk that started a 7-0 run that sealed the win.

 "We're obviously happy to come out with a victory but it was a war from start to finish," Leaf said. "Grand Valley is a great basketball team and they had a great season going."