SIOUX FALLS --  The University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team  (13-13, 9-9 NSIC) , which has won 9-of-15 games, return home to face city rival Augustana (17-7, 12-6 NSIC) and Wayne State (8-16, 6-12 NSIC) in a pair of  home NSIC games on Feb. 10 and 11. The Cougars look to end a four-game slide when they host Augustana in the 66th meeting  between the rivals at 8 p.m. on Friday as part of the Mayor's Cup at the Stewart Center.  On Saturday, USF will host Wayne State in the 22nd meeting between the schools on Senior Night at 6 p.m.

USF to recognize six seniors on Saturday
On Saturday night prior to the start of the game with Wayne State, the Cougars will recognize and thank six seniors, who will play their final regular season home game at the Stewart Center. The seniors include three-year starter Mack Johnson, who has set an all-time three-point mark with 221 in his stellar career. Named first team All-NSIC a year ago, he also ranks 9th in career scoring with 1,547 points. and has 75 double figure scoring game with An exercise science major from Roseville, Minn., he is the son of Monte and Mary Johnson. Clint Thomas of McCall, Idaho, has 124 career treys, which ranks 11th all-time at USF. Thomas, who has 562 career points, has had two of the top 10 seasons with made threes in school history with 60 (10th) a year ago and 64 (7th) this season. A sports management major, she is the son of Tim and Becky Thomas. Senior forward Daniel Hurtt of Kansas City, Mo., has twice scored over 30 points this season and has 644 career points. The son of Marsha and Lewis Hurtt, he is an business administration major. Kebu Johnson of Hopkins, Minn., is a criminal justice major, who dished out 138 assists a year ago, the sixth best total in school history. In his career, he has 365 points, 236 assists and 312 rebounds. He is the son of Patricia Jones.  Cutler Finneman of St. Paul, Minn., has accumulated 213 points with a career high of 15 points. A business administration major, he is the son of Jodi Lukenbill and Steve Finneman. Tyler Thielges of Lamoure, N.D., is an exercise science major, who has played in 14 games this year. He is the son of Darren and Gwen Thielges.

Series -- After Cougars' win Dec. 31, USF trails Augustana, 35-28-2
The last time the teams met on Dec. 31, 2016, the Cougars recorded a 69-62 come-from-behind victory at the Sioux Falls Arena. Zach Wessels scored a career-high 21 points with nine rebounds as the Cougars rallied from a nine-point second half deficit to record the win, ending a seven-game tailspin to the Vikings which dated to a 70-58 win at the Stewart Center on Feb. 15, 2013. It was USF's first win over Augustana on the Vikings' home floor since a 93-87 decision on Nov. 22, 1994. USF lost three games to Augustana a year ago, including a 105-100 decision that ended the Cougars' season in the NSIC quarterfinals. Augustana, which has won 4-of-6 games, is one of the league's best offenses at 83.0 ppg. Guard Jordan Spencer, who leads the league in assists at 7.5  while putting up 16.0 points per game, and Mike Busack (14.8 ppg and 6.6 rpg) are the leaders for Augustana.

Wayne State holds a 12-9 series lead over Cougars
USF will look to extend its three-game winning streak against Wayne State when the teams match up on Senior night on Saturday. The Cougars defeated WSC, 64-58, in Wayne on Dec. 30. The Wildcats come into the game with a 3-3 record over its last six games and 8-16 overall. Kendall Jacks leads the offense at 15.2 ppg and 3.9 rebounds while sharpshooter Matt Thomas (24 3's) is supplying 11.0 ppg. Brian Goodwin (8.0 ppg) and Jordan Cornelius (9.0 ppg) both have over 30 3's on the season.

Head Coach Chris Johnson has tied USF's all-time wins record  
With a 93-70 victory over Concordia-St. Paul at  the Stewart Center, on Jan. 21 men''s basketball coach Chris Johnson tied Shane Murphy (154-77, 2001-08) as the school's all-time  wins leader with 154 victories . His next win puts Coach Johnson into the school's top spot. Johnson claimed his 150th win in a 73-57 win over South Division leader Upper Iowa on Jan. 6  at the Stewart Center. Johnson has 170 career wins overall and will coach in his 304th game against Augustana on Friday  

USF-Augie battle for Mayor's Cup
When city rivals, Augustana and USF play Friday, the schools battle for a half-point in the Mayor's Cup standings. USF trails, 4-3. Also, the teams are cooperating on a sock drive which will be donated to Samaritan's Feet. Fans attending the game may drop off socks in the team's respective baskets prior to Friday night's game at the Stewart Center. For more information on the First Dakota National Bank Mayor's Cup Challenge, visit SFMayorscup.com.

Wessels earns 1st NSIC Player of Week honor; has 13 double digit games this year
Junior guard Zach Wessels, who averaged 15.5 points, 9.5 assists and 6.5 rebounds as the Cougars extended its winning streak to six games, was named the North Central Conference South Division Player of the Week on Jan. 16. Wessels, an exercise science major at USF, earned the honor for the first time in his career. Against Bemidji State, (78-71 W) he became the first player in the NSIC this year to record 20 points and 10 assists in a game. He flirted with a double triple in the win (69-60) over Minnesota Crookston with 11 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Overall, he was 10-of-15 from the field for 66.7 percent, made his only three-point shot, and knocked in 10-of-14 free throws for 71.5 percent. In addition, he had just two turnovers with 19 total assists in 71 minutes of action. Wessels, who accounted for 51 percent of the points scored by USF (75-of-147), became the first USF player in the D2 era (since 2011) to record at least nine assists in back-to-back games. He also became the first USF player in over 15 years to record 20 points and 10 assists in a game. Wessels, who has totaled 13 double digit scoring games, including seven in the past eight games, including five straight.

Guebert leads USF in scoring and rebounding
Sophomore forward Drew Guebert, who has 716 points in 56 career games, is leading USF in scoring with his 15.6 ppg, which ranks 11th in the NSIC. Guebert, who has eight 20-point games this season and 11 in his career,  is supplying 5.5 rebounds per game . He had a season-high of 30 points in the season opener against Emporia State. He has 35 career games with double digit points.  He ranks 13th in made three all time with 118, just one from Corey Smith (1999-2002) with 119 for 11th.

Mack Johnson owns school record for 3's; sits 9th on USF's scoring list
With 353 points this season, including 18 double digit scoring games (75 in his career), Mack Johnson has moved into ninth on USF's career scoring chart.  Johnson has 1,547 career points, and needs 43 points to pass Hall of Famer Luther Hippe (1,589, 1983-86)on USF's career list. After making 39-of-134 three point baskets this season, Johnson is the school's all-time leader in made three-point shots with 221.  Johnson owns 21 games of 20 points or more and three games of 30 points or more, including a career best 39 vs. Upper Iowa on Dec. 4, 2015.

Cougar Tracks ,
'~ In total, USF has had 93 double digit scoring games with Drew Guebert  at a team-high 21, including eight straight.
~ Daniel Hurtt, who has scored in double digits in 18 games, has the Cougars' top offensive performance with 33 points against Minnesota Duluth (12-10-16). In that game, Hurtt scored 21 points by halftime and also tied a career-best with five three pointers on just six shots.  
~  Senior forward Clint Thomas (10.7 ppg) ranks sixth in the league in three point shooting at 48.5 percent on 64-of-132 shooting.  Thomas ranks 11th in made threes all-time at USF with 124, just  three from tying Lance Winter  (1991-93) with 127.
~ In games, USF has led at halftime, they are 12-7, 1-1 when tied at the break and 0-5 when trailing at halftime.
~ In national stats, the Cougars rank 12th in total rebounds with 962, 28th in turnovers per game at 11.4, 39th in scoring defense at 69.0 ppg, 44th in made threes at 209 and 45th in defensive rebounding at 27.58 per game.
~ Three players for USF all have at least 118 career made three-point field goals, which is a first in the history of the program. Mack Johnson is USF's all-time leader at 221 while Clint Thomas is 11th with 124 and Drew Guebert 13th at 118.  
~ USF has shot over .500 seven times this season and are 6-1 in those games. The season best performance was the 38-of-58 performance for 65.5 percent against Concordia-St. Paul on Jan. 21. I
~  Junior forward Tom Aase has set a program D2-best with 125 career blocks, owning USF's D2 mark for season blocks with 56. Brian Kielpinkski who had 135 career blocks from 2011-15, had the D2 mark of 108 career blocks at USF.