The University of Sioux Falls men's basketball team made their first of many road trips scheduled for the 2011 season Sunday to St. Cloud, Minn. where they were downed by future NSIC rival St. Cloud State University, 74-56.
A.J. Holland's 3-pointer two minutes into the first half, gave USF a 4-2 lead, but that lead quickly disappeared as SCSU capitalized on 10 Cougar turnovers to claim a 30-13 lead with 11:00 minutes left in the half.
USF fought back and a pair of Landon Braun free throws cut the Huskie lead to 8 with 58 ticks left in the first half, but James Fort's jumper made for a 10 point (45-35) contest at the break.
SCSU began the second half with a three point play from Brett Putz and a quick jumper by Tim Bergstraser to go up 50-35.
USF had a small surge over the next four minutes and cut their deficit to 11 points following a Skyler Bloch 2-pointer with 14:30 left in the game, but they struggled to find a rhythm as the Cougars scored just 21 points in the second half.
Turnovers were also an issue for USF in the second half, where the Cougars tallied 11 turnovers that led to 10 points for the Huskies.
As a team, USF finished 3-19 from behind the arc and followed up Saturday's perfect day at the free throw line, with a less than perfect performance, going 17-24 from the stripe Sunday.
Derek Brown led the Cougars with 12 points and 4 rebounds, while Sklyer Bloch nearly recorded a double-double. He chipped in 11 points and 8 rebounds.
In his USF debut, Saajid Polite was efficient on the floor, where he went 4-5 from the field and 2-2 from the line to rack up 10 points in just 10 minutes of play.
The Cougars will look to bounce back for a big game Tuesday night against Sioux Falls rival, Augustana College at Sioux Falls Arena. Tip-off is set for 8:00p.m.
