The University of Sioux Falls men's basketball team continues to excel at home, where the Cougars connected on 71% of their second half shots to stretch a six point halftime lead into a dominating, 85-65 victory over South Dakota School of Mines at home. The win marks USF's eight straight win at home, where they have yet to lose a game this season.
The two teams kept it close in the first half, which featured two ties and three lead changes; the only of the game.
SDSM&T held the lead most of the first half, but the Cougars didn't allow the Hardrockers to run away with it, as their largest lead was just five points.
Twelve minutes into the game, USF claimed their first lead, when A.J. Holland slashed to the basket for an easy two, making it 18-17, USF. But it didn't last long, the Hardrockers came right back, scoring six unanswered to go ahead 23-18 with seven minutes to play in the period.
USF ended the half on a 13-3 run, to carry a 31-25 advantage into the break.
The Hardrockers and Cougars played pretty evenly in the first half. The difference was USF's solid shooting and control of the glass, as the Cougars' converted 50% of their, in comparison to 43.5% per clip by the Hardrockers, while edging SDSM&T out on the boards, 17-12.
SDSM&T went shot for shot with USF in the opening minutes of the second half and actually cut their deficit to four points with 16:33 to play. However, a big 3-pointer from Keith Cutler, and a couple of key jumpers by Bretson McNeal and David Maxwell, slowly swung the momentum to the Cougar sideline.
McNeal's 3-pointer near the 13:00 mark opened up a 10 point USF lead, their largest of the game. His shot got the Cougars rolling and they would not be stopped. The Cougars scored 19 of the next 28 points to take a commanding 70-50 lead with 7:44 to play.
The Hardrockers would make a surge down the stretch and pull within 16, but it was too little too late for SDSM&T, as USF extended their lead to as many as 25, before picking up an 85-65 decision at home.
Tonight's game marks the second time the Cougars have shot 60% or better for the game, much of which came in the second half, where both teams shot it well. SDSM&T connected on 65% of their attempts and USF converted at a 71% rate.
USF's trend to outrebound its opponents continued tonight, as they held a 32-19 advantage on the boards. They have outrebounded 10 of their last 11 opponents.
All five USF starters scored in double-digits. Skyler Bloch led the way with19 points on 6-7 shooting from the floor, while Maxwell came out a shooting slump and connected on 5-7 attempts and made his third 3-pointer this season to post 12 points. James Rader and Keith Cutler chipped in 11 points each and Derek Brown added 10 for the Cougars.
USF returns to the court tomorrow when they host Black Hills State University at 6p.m.
