The University of Sioux Falls finished with five players in double-figures for the first time this season in a convincing 76-55 win over the University of Minnesota-Duluth on their home court Friday night in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Cougars' balanced attack was not limited to the number of scorers, but how they scored. USF outscored the Bulldogs 36-26 in the paint and tallied a season-best 11 3-pointers, making it their second-consecutive game with 10 makes or more from behind the arc.
The Cougars improve to 6-6, 2-6 in conference play, while the Bulldogs dropped to 4-8, 2-6 in league play.
USF's big-men got going early and set the tone for the Cougars in the first half. Senior center James Rader was responsible for seven of USF's first nine points. Once he left the game, sophomore center Bryan Kielpinski and senior forward David Maxwell took over down low. The three post players combined for 25 first half points.
The Cougars won the first half battle in the paint 26-8, which contributed to their 56% shooting, and a 34-25 lead at the break.
During the second half, USF's back court heated up. Shots began to open up on the perimeter for the Cougars as a result of their first half success in the paint. They capitalized on the opportunity, converting a season-high nine 3-pointers in the final 20:00 minutes of play.
Near the 12:31 mark it appeared USF was pulling away, Derek Brown knocked down a big 3-pointer to give the Cougars their largest lead, 51-38, but the visiting team wasn't ready to give up.
Over the next four minutes, UMD answered with a 6-0 run to cut the margin to 53-46 with 8:24 to play. However, that is when USF would deliver the final blow, closing the game on a 23-9 run, going ahead by as many as 23 points, en route their largest conference victory of the year.
Tonight marked the first time the Cougars shot above 50% this season. They shot 57% from the floor and 55% from deep, while holding the Bulldogs to 44% shooting from the field, and 25% from beyond the arc.
Jake Hottenstine and Brett Ervin each finished in double-figures for UMD. Ervin went for a game-high 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Hottenstine chipped in 16 points for the Bulldogs.
James Rader led the way with 15 points for USF. He finished 6-of-10 from the field and 2-of-2 at the stripe. Derek Brown recorded his fourth-consecutive double-digit performance. He posted 14 points, including 12 points in the second half, where he netted 4-of-5 from deep.
A.J. Holland, Maxwell and Kielpinski also posted 10-plus tonight. Maxwell scored 12, while Holland and Kielpinski added 10 points each. Kielpinski's total was a season-high and three points shy of his career-best.
USF continues their homestand tomorrow when they host St. Cloud State University. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
