SIOUX FALLS ? Late game rallies seem to be in the blood of the University of Sioux Falls Cougars men's basketball team.

For the second time in three games, the Cougars (7-7, 4-4 NSIC) rallied to post a win as Mack Johnson's three-pointer with 19 seconds left and two free throws from Charles Ward seconds later lifted USF to a 80-77 win over Wayne State College (3-11, 0-8 NSIC) on a cold and blizzardy Saturday night before 616 at attendance at the Stewart Center.

Two games ago, Ward's three in the closing seconds was the difference in a 69-67 win over Southwest Minnesota State, also at home. The Cougars also recorded a 75-73 road win over Mary (Dec. 13) when Freddie Young converted a last second shot.

“This is a great win for the team,” said USF head men's basketball coach Chris Johnson. “We battled all night. Even down five (points) late, there wasn't any quit in this team. Mack (Johnson) found his shot tonight and made a huge three. I think we can use this to build momentum moving forward, “added Johnson, whose team played without starting point guard Freddie Young and reserve forward Cutler Finneman.

With 1:44 left on the clock, the Cougars trailed the Wildcats, 73-67. But then Johnson asserted himself. A sophomore guard from Roseville, Minn., Johnson hit consecutive three pointers with his second?one drawing USF within 75-73 with 52 seconds left in the game. On the ensuing possession, redshirt freshman Tom Aase forced a steal near midcourt which led to a drive to the basket by Ward, who converted two free throws to tie the game. After Wayne State made a pair of free throws (Jordan Cornelius), the Cougars set up Johnson again and the sharpshooter didn't miss. Johnson's shot from the right side of the key gave USF a 78-77 lead with 19 seconds left. After Wayne State missed on the other end, Ward was again fouled and his two free throws with nine seconds to play pushed the Cougars' lead to 80-77. A three pointer by the Wildcats' Jamie Pearson was offline as USF picked up a crucial home NSIC win.

“We may have made some mistakes tonight but we also came through with a bunch of winning plays. Every play is important in a game. Our guys stay focused and really dug deep late to help bring this victory home,” added Johnson.

M. Johnson, who did not score in the first half, scored all 19 of his points in the second half, including 5-of-5 from three-point range. He reached double figure points for the 19th time in his career and 11th time in 2014-15. Ward also came up big for the Cougars with 20 points, five assists and three rebounds. He tied a season-best with 10 free throws in 15 attempts. Ward reached double digits for the 30th time in his career and his 19th straight game dating back to a year ago. He also went past 600 points (615) for his career with his fifth 20-point outing of the season and 11th during his career at USF. Also reaching double figures for USF was senior center Bryan Kielpinski with 14, as he hit all six of his field goal attempts, and junior Jordan Stotts, who had 12 points and four rebounds.

In all seven wins this season, USF has outshot opponents and did so again tonight. The Cougars hit 57.8 percent (26-of-45) from the floor and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from three-point range. Meanwhile Wayne State shot 45.8 percent (27-of-59) from the floor and just 15.8 percent (3-of-19) from three point range. The Cougars were 21-of-31 from the foul line for 67.7 percent and WSC, 20-of-25 for 80 percent.

The Wildcats were led by Patrick Kurth with a career-high 29 points and seven rebounds while Trae VandeBerg had 15 points and Jordan Cornelius, 12.

Wayne State took an early lead over USF, opening with an 11-5 advantage after a layup with 17:07 to play in the first half. The Wildcats retained the lead until the Cougars drew within 19-17 after a free throw by J.R. Hollis with 10:44 to play in the half. USF eventually tied the game when backup point guard Zach Wessels hit a three-pointer with four minutes to play. Then, USF closed the half on a 12-7 run, including a three from James Lawson with three seconds to play. In the first half, USF hit 16-of-23 from the field for 69.6 percent, including 2-of-4 from three point range. Kielpinski led USF with 12 points, hitting all five of his field goal attempts.

After the Wildcats cut the lead to 42-40 early in the second half, the Cougars took off on a 7-0 run for a 49-40 advantage after a free throw from Ward with 17:07 left on the clock. WSC responded with a 10-3 run to cut USF's lead to 52-50 with 13:18 to play. USF rebuilt the lead to 59-50 after a layup by Stotts at the 11:58 mark. Then Wayne State, searching for its first league win this year, had a 22-9 run over the next 10 minutes for a 73-67 lead. With the winter blizzard raging outside the Stewart Center, Johnson warmed up the Cougar faithful with three three-pointers in the final 1:32 to rally USF to the win.

Next for the Cougars is a road trip to Winona State and Upper Iowa on Jan. 9-10.