Rader and USF got things going early. He opened the game with four quick points to help the Cougars take a 7-2 lead with 16:58 to go in the first half. It would stand as their largest lead of the night.

Near the 12:00 mark, the home team responded with a 10-0 run to claim an 18-12 lead halfway through the first period. USF answered with a run of their own, capped by a timely Derek Brown 3-pointer to give the Cougars a 22-20 advantage with 5:00 to play in the first half.

However, the Wolves would outscore the Cougars 17-6 to close the half with a 37-28 margin at the break.

It was all NSU in the second half, where the Wolves maintained a double-digit lead during 18 of the final 20 minutes of play.

The Cougars came within eight points of NSU on two separate occasions, with their most threating push coming near the 12:00 mark. USF charted Back-to-back old-fashioned three-point plays from Robert Goffney and Jerry Dixon to make it 46-38 with 12:43 to go, but that is as close as they would get.

Following a few unnecessary fouls, NSU benefited by being in the bonus the final nine minutes, where they went 13-of-14 at the line to hold off any USF surge and pick up their 14th win of the season.

Colin Pryor and Mack Arvidson led all scorers with 17 points each for NSU. Pryor did most of his damage at the line, where he went 15-of-17. He also recorded a game-high eight rebounds. Geoffrey Firmin represented NSU's third player in double digits. He chipped in 11 points for the Wolves.

Statistically, USF did a lot of things right. They outrebounded NSU 25-23, recorded fewer turnovers and tallied 20 points off of Wolves turnovers, but that wasn't enough.

The home team also received a significant contribution from their bench tonight. Their relief outscored USF's bench 34-13.

USF returns home next weekend, January 25-26 to host Winona State University and Upper Iowa University.