Behind another 20 point night from senior forward Skyler Bloch and 62% shooting in the second half, the University of Sioux Falls men's basketball team cruised to a 73-59 victory over Minot State University Saturday night in Minot, N.D. The win marks their ninth straight and puts USF at 12-7 on the year, while MSU falls to 3-17.

Bloch got to business right away, scoring USF's first two points of the game. Minutes later he decided to display his range, as A.J. Holland found the big man spotted up for a 3-pointer that made it 8-5, MSU.

Over the next 10 minutes the game went back and forth, but neither team could maintain much of a lead.

Following two Matt Yale free throws, the Beavers were up 28-25 with 4:55 to play in the half, but the Cougars would make a push and close the half on a 10-0 run to carry a 35-28 lead into the break.

Chris East's jumper to open the second half made it a two possession game, but USF, led by two big buckets from David Maxwell, surged for a quick 6-0 run to stretch their lead back to double digits. MSU trailed 46-35 with 13:53 to play.

Next, Bloch would pick up where left off, scoring nine points over the next five minutes to help the Cougars reach their largest lead at 17 points (57-40) with just over nine minutes to play.

The Beavers took advantage of a few big USF turnovers and turned things around with a 9-2 run, making for a 59-49 game with 6:09 left in regulation.

However, 10 was as close as MSU would come, as USF went ahead by as many as 16 in the final minutes before claiming a 73-59 win in Minot, N.D.

USF shot the ball well tonight, connecting at a 55% rate, while limiting MSU to 39% shooting. Both teams had strong performances at the line, where the Cougars made 19 of 21 (90.5%) to better a 72% (18-25) showing by the Beavers.

It was not in dominating fashion, but USF won the battle on the boards, 29-28.

Every player on the Cougars' roster marked the scoring column tonight, so there is no surprise USF's bench outscored the Beavers' bench 23-13.

Josh Johnson shot 8-18 from the floor to lead MSU with 20 points and six rebounds, while Thomas Korf served as the teams' only other player in double figures. He added 11 points and accounted for all three of the Beavers 3-pointers tonight.

Bloch's 24 points was a game high. He shot an efficient 8-12 from the field, 67% (2-3) behind the arc and was perfect (6-6) at the line. Bloch was the only Cougar to score double-digits, but three starters, in Derek Brown, David Maxwell and Keith Cutler each chipped in eight points.

Holland recorded two career highs with seven assists and four steals. He also added five points.

The Cougars will face Dakota State for the second time in less than 3 weeks Saturday (Feb.4) when they travel to Madison, S.D. Tip-off is set for 7:30p.m.