WINONA, Minn. – Led by a career-best performance from Zach Wessels and a record-breaking effort from Mack Johnson, the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team outscored Winona State, 90-81, on the road and picked up an important NSIC victory on Friday night before 1,403 at McCown Gymnasium. It was USF's first-ever win at Winona State in five tries as an NSIC member.

Johnson established a career three-point mark at USF by hitting six-of-11 from three-point range and scoring 23 points. As a result, Johnson now has 199 three-point field goals in his career. He also moved into 11th on USF's career scoring list with 1,319 and needs five more to jump into the program top-10 career scorers.

Sophomore forward Drew Guebert had 21 points, hitting 6-of-13 from the field. Senior forward Clint Thomas, who hit 4-of-5 from three-point range, had 17 points and three rebounds. But the story of the night was Wessels, who had a career-high 18 points, including 6-of-8 from the floor while making 6-of-6 free throws. He also had two rebounds and three assists. Wessel's previous high was nine points as he nearly doubled his best previous effort.

"I think this win was a result of a lot of things tonight," said USF head men's basketball coach Chris Johnson, who picked up his 145 win at USF. "But, a big part of it was the play of Zach Wessels. I have never seen Zach better. He came out aggressive and maintained that all night. Then, you have Mack (Johnson) getting his confidence back. Plus, Drew (Guebert) was doing what he does and everyone else contributing. I mean Clint (Thomas) continued to knock down big shots," he said.

Key to the win was USF finding its offense by reaching 90 points for the third time (2-1 record) this year. And, the Cougars found that offense against the league's top-ranked defense (61.2 ppg). Against WSU, the Cougars were hot from distance, making a season-best 14 three-pointers on 27 attempts for 51.9 percent. At the foul line, USF had a season-best 18-of-19 conversions for 94.7 percent. For a team shooting just 63.1 percent at the line, it was a significant point.

On this night, both teams had their shooters connecting and it is why winning the rebounding battle was significant, noted Johnson, whose team had a 31-29 edge and committed just nine turnovers.

"We rebounded super and had good ball security. I thought we made plays tonight. It is our best win of the year," added Johnson.

Overall both teams shot over 50 percent with USF just a little bit better with 51.8 percent, hitting 29-of-56 shots. The Cougars made 16-of-28 in the second half for 57.1 percent. WSU made 51.6 percent from the field on 32-of-62 shooting. Like USF, they were hot, making 20-of-33 shots for 60.6 percent in the second half but with USF scoring a season-high 55 second-half points, the Warriors, who scored 50, just couldn't catch the Cougars. WSU was led by seniors Kyle Bauman, who had 22 points and seven rebounds, and Riley Bambenek with 20 points and four assists.

WSU jumped out quickly at home against USF, rushing to a 4-0 lead. But Johnson broke the school record with his 194th career three-pointer as Cougars trailed, 4-3 with 16:12 left. However, WSU continued to press the early advantage by scoring seven straight to build an 11-3 advantage at the 13:32 mark on a lay-up by Isaiah Gray, who finished with 18 points on the night.  

The Cougars, which opened just 1-of-7, started getting some traction offensively when Wessels hit a jumper to cut the deficit to 11-5 with 11:42 to play. Trailing 18-9, the Cougars closed the half on a 26-11 run to take a 35-29 halftime lead.

USF's rally was energized by Guebert and Thomas, who knocked down back-to-back three pointers to cut WSU's lead to 18-17. Wessels' lay-up (7:15) capped 10-3 run by USF to enable the Cougars to take their first lead of the game at 21-20. Johnson hit his second three-pointer of the half with 5:19 to play as Cougars opened up a 25-23 lead. USF never trailed after that Johnson hoop.

After a three-pointer from Thomas (2:37), Tom Aase's layup with 1:32 to play provided USF with a 30-25 advantage. After Bambenek hit a three for WSU, Guebert scored inside with two seconds left to provide Cougars with a 35-29 lead at halftime.

In the first half, USF made 46.4 percent from the field on 13-of-28 shooting. The Cougars, which had an 18-14 advantage on the boards, hit 6-of-15 from three point range. Aside from Guebert, M. Johnson had nine points and Thomas, six. Bambanek had nine to lead WSU, which converted 12-of-29 shots from the field for 41.4 percent. The Warriors were 3-of-9 from three point range.

Early in the second half, Wessel's aggressive play helped USF retain a lead. He had consecutive drives for scores for a 39-33 lead with 18:42 to play.  Then, Thomas had five straight points for a 44-37 lead with 17:27 to play. With 14:28 left, M. Johnson hit his second straight three of the half for a 52-43 advantage.

After an answer from WSU on a Bauman dunk, Guebert hit from distance with 13:31 to play and a 55-47 USF lead. The Warriors made a run at USF, using a 9-2 spurt to draw within 57-56 with 11:21 left in the game.

But each time, WSU made a run, the Cougars had an answer. With 9:15 to play, Thomas connected on a trio of free throws as USF took a 66-59 lead. From there, M. Johnson took control with eight straight points, including a pair of threes, for a 74-60 advantage with 7:32 to play. WSU answered with six straight to cut USF's lead to 74-66 after a tip-in from Baumann but couldn't draw any closer.

Wessels hit a pair of free throws to build a 10-point lead (76-66, 4:54, 2nd). A three-pointer from Gray drew WSU within 83-76 at the 2:41 mark. However, Guebert hit a three to answer. With 1:04 to play, Corey Jeffs hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 88-81. But after a USF turnover, Bauman missed a three pointer and Aase grabbed the board. When he made a pair of free throws with 47 seconds left and Jeffs missed another three, the Cougars had its biggest win of the season.

On Saturday, the Cougars will face Upper Iowa in Fayette, Iowa with the tip set for 6 p.m.