SIOUX FALLS – Trevon Evans had 21 points but the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (10-6, 6-5 NSIC) had shooting woes in falling to Bemidji State (7-9, 4-7 NSIC) on Friday in NSIC action at the Stewart Center.

USF, which dropped its second straight game, shot a season low 31.7 percent, hitting just 20-of-63 shots from the field, including 6-of-23 from three point range. In addition, USF lost the rebound battle for just fourth time in 16 games with BSU owning a 42-38 advantage.

In the opening half, USF was just 9-of-33 from the field and 3-of-9 from three point range as they trailed 32-27. However, BSU opened the game on a 13-0 run and trailed just once the rest of the game. USF rallied to take a 41-40 lead on a three-point play by Drew Guebert with 11:37 to play in the second half. Then, the Beavers outscored USF, 34-28, the rest of the way to take the victory.

BSU also ended a four-game slide to USF, dating back to their last win on Feb. 2, 2013 (72-69 at the BSU Gym).

Evans broke the 20-point mark for the eighth time this year. He had five field goals and knocked down 10 free throws in 12 attempts. He also added four rebounds and four assists in 30 minutes of action.  Evans was the only USF player in double digits but three others players had nine points. Guebert finished with nine points and three boards while Aaron Rothermund had nine, hitting 3-of-4 from three-point range. Teathloach Pal also had nine points, along with a team-high seven rebounds and three blocks. 

BSU hit 23-of-56 shots for 41.4 percent, which was just good enough to pull out the victory, the 1,000th in program history. They were led by Sharif Black with 18 points while Logan Bader had a double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Both Derek Thompson and Christian Pekarek had 13.

Game Breakdown
In the early going, the Beavers controlled the action, racing to a 13-0 lead as Bader knocked in a pair of three point field goals.  With a threes from Evans and Rothermund, USF pulled within, 13-8 at the 13:45 mark.  BSU responded with eight straight points for a 21-8 advantage (11:46, 1st half). From that point until 5:12 remained in the half, USF had an 11-3 run to draw within 24-19 after Zach Wessels converted a drive to the basket. BSU's lead stayed between three and five points the rest of the way with a pair of foul shots from Jai'Vonne Green (:44, 1st half) providing BSU with a 32-27 advantage at halftime.

USF had several opportunities to make a run in the second half but the cold shooting and untimely turnovers hurt the Cougars. At the 15:37 mark, Evans converted a drive to the basket as USF trailed, 34-33.  The basket provided a little momentum as Rothermund connected from three-point range to tie the game at 38 with 12:33 to play. Then, Guebert had a three-point play to push USF into the lead at the 11:37 mark.

BSU regained a 42-41 lead at the 10:05 mark on Green's lay-up. Over the next four minutes, the Beavers had a 10-4 run to push the advantage to 52-45 on a three-pointer from Bader.  Redshirt freshman forward Austin Slater, who had six points and five rebounds, drew USF within 53-49 with 4:51 to play. But USF was unable to get stops as a 13-6 run by the Beavers pushed their advantage to 66-55 with 2:08 to play.

USF tried to press and foul to increase possessions in the final two minutes but were unable to draw any closer than five points after an Evans's lay-up with 28 seconds to go. When a USF three pointer by Drew Maschoff, who had eight points on the night, was offline, the issue was decided as the Cougars fell at home for just the second time in eight games.

Next for USF will be a home game with Minnesota Crookston on Saturday with tipoff at 6 p.m. from the Stewart Center.