BEMIDJI, MINN. – Two free throws from sophomore guard Mack Johnson with four seconds left sealed the University of Sioux Falls men's basketball team's 69-64 win over Bemidji State on Saturday night in Bemidji, Minn.
The victory ended a nine-game losing slide by the Cougars and brought a great sense of relief to the Cougars and head basketball coach Chris Johnson.
“I am so happy for the guys. In my time here, I don't know when I have been more proud of my guys,” said Johnson. “With all they have gone through in the past month, I thought they showed extraordinary character tonight. The guys played hard and continued to battle,” added Johnson, whose team lost in overtime on Friday night but withstood several charges by Bemidji State to pull out the road win on Saturday. “We did a lot of things well tonight. I thought we had great balance and we really did well at the free throw line," he said.
While Bemidji State become the fourth straight opponent with 10 or more three's in a game against USF, this time the Cougars had an answer. That response, according to Johnson, was to attack the basket and get to the foul line. USF, which came into the game ranked at the bottom of the NSIC in free throw shooting, turned it around against the Beavers, knocking down 17-of-22 free throws for 77.3 percent. The Cougars, which hit 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) from three-point range, also had a decent night shooting by hitting 24-of-50 field goals for 48 percent.
“We found a way to challenge them inside and then we made the shots at the foul line,” said Johnson.
Leading the way for USF was senior guard Charles Ward, who had 18 points and nine rebounds. For the second straight game, he was solid at the line, hitting 11-of-14. Last night, he was 11-of-13 and hit a combined 22-of-27 for 81.4 percent over the weekend. He also reached double figures for the 22nd time this season and 38th overall in his career. Additionally, Ward pulled within two points (798) of 800 points in his career.
Mack Johnson, whose free throws iced the win, finished with 14 points, four rebounds and two assists. He also scored in double digits for the 17th time this season. Junior forward Jordan Stotts was also part of a balanced scoring attack for the Cougars with 12 points and three boards. He was 6-of-7 from the field, including a dunk. Also senior center Bryan Kielpinski had nine points and freshman guard Zach Wessels contributed seven points and four rebounds.
For Bemidji State, bench play was key to staying in the game. The team's two top scorers today both were reserves. Clayton Elrod had 19 points, hitting 7-of-7 from the floor and 5-of-5 from three-point range. D.J. Anderson added 14 points. BSU's leading scorer Brock Lutes was held to just eight points. As a team, the Beavers hit 24-of-49 field goals for 49 percent, including 10-of-22 from three-point range for 45.5 percent. However, they had just eight free throw attempts, making six.
In the opening 10 minutes of the game, USF raced out to a 23-12 lead with production across the board. Balance hasn't always been the case this season with the Cougars but they had it tonight, especially in the opening 20 minutes. Five players, led by Ward's seven points, had at least five points and seven players scored at the Cougars took a 34-27 halftime lead.
Early on Kielpinski and Stotts opened the game with baskets as USF led, 4-0 at the 18:13 mark. USF, which hit 5-of-7 shots, including a pair of three pointers, built a 12-2 lead at the 14:58 mark when Cutler Finneman hit from distance. The Beavers responded with an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 12-10 as Lutes connected from three-point range at the 13:12 mark. Later after M. Johnson converted a basket and free throw, USF had a 19-10 lead (11:15). By the 9:31 mark, the Cougars had built a game-high 11-point lead (23-12) after Ward connected on two foul shots.
After USF led 27-19, the Beavers received a three-pointer from Dillon Floyd to cut lead to 27-22 with five minutes to play. But every time the Beavers drew close, the Cougars had an answer. Case in point - when BSU pulled within 31-25, Ward hit from three-point range for a 34-25 lead at the 2:26 mark.
In the first half, USF hit 48.1 percent on 13-of-27 shooting and also were 5-of-5 from the foul line. USF also committed just four turnovers and had a 19-to-8 margin on the boards.
Early in the second half, USF continued to hit timely shots. Mack Johnson's three-pointer gave USF a 37-29 lead at the 18:13 mark, which ended a 3:42 scoring drought that dated back to the end of the first half.
After Elrod hit from deep, the Beavers cut the lead to 43-38 with 14:17 left on the clock. While USF held off the Beavers in the first half. In the second stanza, BSU would catch the Cougars but led just once. With 9:24 to play, USF took a 51-49 lead on a dunk by Stotts, just moments after the Beavers had tied the game. From there, the Cougars were able to maintain a lead until BSU had back-to-back threes to take a 59-57 lead with 3:33 to play.
Once again, the Cougars answered with consecutive layups from Wessels and Kielpinski to take a 61-59 lead. From that point, USF would indeed hold off the Beavers and did not give up the lead. Ward hit 4-of-6 free throws to give USF a 67-64 lead with 17 seconds left. Then, M. Johnson had a steal and after being fouled, calmly stepped to the line and put the game on ice with two free throws with four seconds to play.
The Cougars will now continue a four-game road swing with a date at Wayne State on Friday and a matchup with rival and #4 Augustana on Saturday at the Sioux Falls Arena.
