MARSHALL, MINN. – Senior guard Charles Ward scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half to key a furious comeback in the final five minutes but the University of Sioux Falls men's basketball team fell just short in a 72-68 loss to Southwest Minnesota State in their road NSIC opener on Tuesday at Marshall, Minn.
With about eight minutes to play, USF trailed SMSU (5-2, 1-0 NSIC), 58-39 but put together a 20-6 run to pull within five points with about two minutes to play. Eventually, USF closed within three after a Mack Johnson three-point field goal with eight seconds to play. However, SMSU's Travis Meinders hit 1-of-2 free throws to ice the game and drop USF to 2-4 overall and 0-1 in the NSIC.
Ward, who scored just two points in the opening half, caught fire in the second half as he recorded his second 20-point outing of the season and his 13th straight double figure scoring game dating to last year. Ward hit 9-of-18 shots from the field and also had four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Johnson added 17 points as he had a trio of three-pointers and eight rebounds to lead USF. Johnson has made three, 3-point shots in four straight games and 10 times in his career. Sophomore guard Freddie Young tied a career-high with 12 points while recording a career-best seven rebounds for USF which hit 39.4 percent from the field of 26-of-66 shooting.
The Cougars, which hit 5-of-16 from three point range, committed 23 fouls which led to a big advantage at the foul stripe for SMSU. The Mustangs hit 22-of-31 (71 percent) foul shots while USF made 11-of-14 (78 percent).
“For whatever reason, I thought we looked sluggish early in the game,” said seventh-year USF head men's coach Chris Johnson. “We worked back into the game but Mitch Weg of SMSU really played well for them. I was pleased that we fought back but we just have to find ways to put more baskets together,” he said.
Weg had a double-double for SMSU with 15 points and 15 rebounds, Also scoring in double figures for the Mustangs was sophomore Drew Osmundson with 13 points, including a pair of three-pointers. Carter Kirk and Joey Bartlett each added 10 points for the Mustangs. SMSU, the league leader in three-point field goal percentage, had five three's in the first half but cooled off and hit just 6-of-20 for the game for 30 percent.
The home standing Mustangs grabbed control of the game early in the first half. After USF had a 4-3 lead, the Mustangs went on an 11-2 run for a 14-5 lead with 13:47 to play in the opening half. Then, USF, which missed 10-of-12 shots to open the game, had a 10-2 run to draw within 16-15 with 10:05 to play in the half after a layup by Johnson. But just as quickly, SMSU answered with a closing run of 24-9 to take a 40-24 halftime edge. While Young had nine points to lead USF, the Cougars struggled from the field as a team, hitting just 8-of-27 shots from the field for 29.6 percent and missing all five of its three-point field goal attempts. Meanwhile, SMSU knocked down five three-pointers (15 attempts) and hit 42.4 percent from the field on 14-of-33 shooting. Weg and Osmundson each had eight points to lead the Mustangs.
After SMSU took their largest lead of the game at 43-24 early in second half (18:34), USF scored four straight after Ward and Finnegan baskets to pull within 43-28. Still, the Cougars couldn't sustain any offensive momentum as they missed layup on consecutive trips with a chance to slice into the Mustangs' lead.
Gradually, SMSU pushed the lead back to 19 points at 58-39 with 8:21 to play in the game. Then, USF put together a late run in which they nearly caught SMSU.
The rally started with a three-pointer from Johnson at the 8:02 mark. It was the first of nine straight points by the Cougars, which cut the lead to 58-48 at the 5:24 mark after a basket by Ward. Then, after Kirk hit a three, USF again rallied. A three by Johnson cut the lead to 62-51 with 3:37 to play. Later, freshman forward James Lawson had five straight points to help the Cougars draw within 64-59 with 2:04 left in the game. Consecutive layups by Ward offset free throws by SMSU as the Cougars were within 68-63 with 42 seconds to play. SMSU was able to convert 4-of-8 free throws down the stretch to hold off USF, which drew within three points when Johnson hit his third three of the half with eight seconds to play.
USF returns home this weekend to host their NSIC home opener at the Stewart Center. On Friday, they will face Upper Iowa at 8 p.m., and then battle Winona State on Saturday at 6 p.m.
