SIOUX FALLS – Snake bit. Those two words perhaps best describe the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team in 2017. On Friday night, the Cougars (13-14, 9-10 NSIC) dropped another excruciating decision by falling to city rival Augustana (18-7, 13-6 NSIC), 80-78, before 1,738 in attendance at the Stewart Center.
For the eighth time this season, USF lost a game by two points or less. Five times the Cougars have lost by two or less points in league play. As a result, USF dropped its fifth straight decision to fall to 13-14 overall and 9-10 in league play.
Down one (79-78) with 19 seconds to play, USF senior guard Mack Johnson's jumper rolled off the rim. After Augustana made 1-of-2 free throws, USF senior forward Daniel Hurtt had a good look to tie the game but again the shot was off line as USF lost to the Vikings and split the season series. In a game that included nine ties and 15 lead changes, the Cougars took a 47-39 half-time lead, including a lead as high as 12 points in the first half, but the Vikings rallied for a 41-31 edge in the second half.
"We had our opportunities to get them at the end but the shots didn't fall," said USF head coach Chris Johnson. "It is another hard loss to take for this team. This group has had some hard luck this season," he said.
USF was led by Hurtt, who had 18 points, two rebounds and an assist. He was 8-of-13 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from three point range. Three others Cougars' players reached double digits, including M. Johnson who had 14 points, four rebounds and three assists. Johnson, who now has 1,561 career points (9th all-time), was 6-of-14 from the floor and had two more three pointers to push his career total to a school record best 223.
Zach Wessels had another solid game with 14 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Wessels was 6-of-9 from the floor. Sophomore forward Drew Guebert provided 13 points and two rebounds before fouling out with 5:35 to play.
A key difference in the game was from the foul line as Augustana was 22-of-28 for 78.6 percent while USF, which was whistled for six more fouls (24-18), was 7-of-15 for 46.7 percent. USF, which won the rebound battle, 30-26, had a solid night shooting at 53.4 percent, including 31-of-58 from the floor. In addition, USF was 9-of-20 from three point range for 45 percent. The Vikings, led in scoring by Mike Busack with 27 points and nine rebounds, hit 24-of-51 shots for 47.1 percent. They were 10-of-27 from three point range for 37 percent.
The Cougars were able to forge an early lead as a five-point run by Hurtt produced a 7-0 lead. The Vikings answered with a 12-4 run to take a 12-11 advantage on a lay-up by Marcus Asmus. With the team exchanging leads, a three-point play by Wessels produced a 25-21 lead with 9:15 to play. After Busack's lay-up at 6:04 tied the game at 31, the Cougars took off on a 16-4 run, keyed by a pair of three pointers from M. Johnson, to build a game-high 47-35 lead with 1:34 to play. The Vikings scored the final four points of the half, including a lay-up by Johnson Warren with 20 seconds left in the half to draw within 47-39.
Early in the second half, Hurtt converted a lay-up as the Cougars maintained a 49-41 lead (18:57). But Augie rallied with a three-pointer by Adam Beyer trimming the deficit to 52-51 at the 16:23 mark. After that, the largest lead was a 62-56 advantage by USF after consecutive threes from Guebert and Hurtt (13:50).
The Vikings responded with a 7-0 run with a jumper by Busack providing the go-ahead basket at 63-62 and 8:45 to play. From that point on there were four lead changes as a three-pointer from Jordan Spencer, who had 10 points and eight assists, gave the Vikings the for good at 79-78 with 1:43 to go. Just one more point was scored the rest of the way – a free throw by Augie's Steve Schaefer.
Next for USF will be the final regular season home game for USF on Saturday. On Senior Night, the Cougars will host Wayne State with tip set for 6 p.m.
