SIOUX FALLS -- The University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (9-4, 5-3 NSIC), which ranks third in the league in scoring at 82.3 ppg, will hit the road for a pair of  NSIC games at Upper Iowa  (9-8, 2-6 NSIC) on Friday, Jan. 5 at 8 p.m., and at Winona State  (8-6, 3-5 NSIC) at 6 p.m., Jan. 6. USF is coming off a 1-1 weekend  while UIU was also 1-1 and WSU dropped two road games. The Cougars stand 5-3 for third in the NSIC South Division, just a half-game behind SMSU (6-2)

The Cougars, which had a nonconference game with Midland moved from Dec. 19 to Jan. 16 at the Stewart Center, just finished a short two-game home stand as they lost to Wayne State, 78-66, despite 22 points from Trevon Evans on Dec. 30 before rallying to defeat city rival Augustana, 70-61 in overtime, as freshman guard Drew Maschoff had 15 points and 11 rebounds in his first career start on Dec. 31. In the victory over the Vikings, Drew Guebert added 18 points and a career-best three blocks while Justin Taylor had 12 points and a career-high nine boards.  Zach Wessels provided 10 points and eight rebounds.
 
UIU Notes - UIU, which is 9-8 overall and 2-6 in  the NSIC,  is directed by fifth year head coach Brooks McKowen, who is 80-60. The Peacocks defeated Bemidji State, 84-75, as Joe Smoldt had 19 to lead the Peacocks. On Sunday night , UIU fell to Minnesota-Crookston, 98-79 as UMC's Harrison Cleary had 31 points and Alan Hodge, 22.  The Peacocks are led by standout guard Carson Parker, who is averaging 17.5 points and 6.3 points per game. Dennis Austin III is contributing 13.2 ppg and Joe Smoldt, 12.2 to a squad scoring 79.3 ppg. UIU opened the season 6-3  and have split its last six games.

Winona State Notes - As for  WSU, they dropped a 73-56 decision at Minnesota Crookston as just Tommy Gathje scored in double digits (10 points) and they shot only 40.3 percent from the field. In a 62-59 loss to Bemidji State, the Warriors also had shooting issues, finishing at 33.9 percent. Kevion Taylor had 13 points off the bench.  Directed by head coach Todd Eisner  (452-201), the Warriors rank fifth in the league in defensive scoring at 70.6 ppg. WSU is fourth in the NSIC with 8.9 three pointers per game and commit just 9.9 turnovers per game, which is also fourth in league rankings. Mason Domask leads the team with 12.6 ppg with Ganje at 12.1 ppg.   .

Inside Scoop on Cougars
Through 13 games, USF has been one of the league's best scoring teams, averaging 82.3 ppg  with nine games of 80 points or better.  USF is led by junior forward Drew Guebert, who ranks third in the NSIC in scoring at 22.1 ppg.  Junior guard Trevon Evans is fourth in the NSIC in scoring at 20.7 points per game.   The Cougars, picked ninth in the NSIC Preseason Poll, have scored 90 points or more in six of 12 games for the first time in the D2 era.

Cougar Tracks
~ Junior forward Drew Guebert has 1,095 career to move into 24th place on  USF all-time scoring list. He is the 33rd player to surpass 1,000 points in his career.   
~ Senior Jerrod Walton (529) and Zach Wessels (547) have moved past 500 career points.
~ A rarity, USF has had two players record double doubles of over 30 points and 10 rebounds. Trevon Evans had career highs with 31 points and 12 rebounds against Ft. Hays State while  Drew Guebert had a career-best 36 points with 10 rebounds against SMSU
~ Between Evans and Guebert, they have a combined five games over 30 points and . Evans has scored 31 against Fort Hays State, 31 against Upper Iowa and a career-high 32 on the road against St. Cloud State. Guebert had his career-high 36 points in the overtime win at home against SMSU and 32 in the victory over Fort Hays State.
~ The Cougars have had three players (Jerrod Walton, 2; Trevon Evans, 5; and Drew Guebert, 8) combine for 15 games of 20 points or more.
~ In total, USF has a combined 42 double digit scoring games  from 10 players including Guebert, 12; Evans, 11; Walton, 7; Wessels, 3; Teathloach Pal, 2; Justin Taylor, 3; Drew Maschoff, 2; Austin Slater, 1; Aaron Rothermund, 1; and Chase Grinde, 1.
~ Four players including Slater (17), Evans (12), Maschoff (11) and Guebert (10) have recorded double digit rebounds and also had double doubles in those games. Slater had 17 points and 13 rebounds against SMSU, 11/25/17; Guebert, 36 points and 10 rebounds against SMSU, 11/25/17; and Evans, 31 points and 12 rebounds against Fort Hays State, 11/11/17. In his first career start, Maschoff recorded career-bests of 15 points and 11 rebounds in an overtime win over Augustana, 70-61, at the Stewart Center.
~ USF has outrebounded 10-of-13 opponents team this season by at least six rebounds, which has enabled them to lead the NSIC at 40.4 per game. The Cougars' 7.6 margin per game also leads the NSIC.  The Cougars have had over 40 boards seven times with a high of 50 against both SMSU on Nov. 25 and Augustana on New Years Eve (12-31-17). In fact, USF has had a double digit margin over opponents in rebounds six times.
~ In its nine wins, USF has outshot opponents from the field with a season-best 56.3 percent against Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 9. The Cougars have shot at least 50 percent five times.
~ Twice in 2017-18, the Cougars have over 10 3's in a game with a high of 12 against Wisconsin-Superior
~ Redshirt freshman Austin Slater recorded his first career double double with 13 points and 17 rebounds in OT win over SMSU. He had totaled just five points and seven rebounds before his big game on Nov. 25. In fact, the 17 rebounds are the most by a USF player since Kelly Hubbard had 19 on Jan. 13, 2009 (16 points, 18 rebounds, 85-84 win over Northwestern)
~ USF is 6-2 when trailing at halftime and 6-1 in home games
~ USF has scored at least 41 points in the second half of eight of 13 games and has had 49 or  more second half points five times, including five of the past eight games
~ USF has had at least one block in every game with a high of eight against Wayne State (12/30/17). In 11 straight games, USF, third in the NSIC in blocks, have had at least two each game.
~ For stat nerds, Drew Guebert is an effective field goal percentage of 56.7 percent (accounting that three point shots have more value than two point field goals) and a true shooting percentage of 61.5 percent (player's shooting efficiency - accounting for field goals, three pointers and free throws in one metric) while accounting for 28.6 percent of plays by USF on offense. Trevon Evans has a 55.2 percent effective field goal percentage and is at 59.6 percent on true shooting percentage. The Cougars have a team offensive rating at 110.3 and team defensive rating of 100.7 per game.

Winona State - USF Series tied, 6-6
USF will play Winona State for the 13th time on Saturday, Jan. 6, dating to an 84-66 win by the Warriors in the 1969-70 season. On Dec. 1,  2017 at the Stewart Center, USF received 23 points from Drew Guebert and 17 from Zach Wessels in an 80-64 victory over Winona State. The win gave USF four straight wins n the series. A year ago, the Cougars defeated Winona State, 90-81 in Winona on Dec. 2, 2016. USF also picked up a 58-55 home win over  Winona State on Jan. 7, 2017. In the 90-81 win, Mack Johnson had 23 points, including six three-pointers, and Drew Guebert, added 21 with three treys. USF, which also had 18 points from Zach Wessels (6-of-8 from the floor), led 35-29 at halftime before shooting 57.1 percent (16-of-28) in the second half in outscoring the  Warriors, 55-52, to take the win. Kyle Baumann had 22 points and Riley Bambenek, 20, for WSU, which made 20-of-33 shots in the second half for 60 percent . In the second game at the Stewart Center, USF, led by 13 points from Clint Thomas, built a 13-point lead in the second half and held off a rally by the Warriors in the final six minutes. USF led, 35-29, at halftime but were outscored, 26-23 in the second half. Drew Guebert added eight points and 12 rebounds. Conner Flack had 14 and Corey Jeffs, 13, to lead the Warriors.  The Warriors pulled within two points late, including 55-53 with a minute to play. However, M. Johnson, who had 10 points, converted a driving jumper and then hit a free throw with 17 seconds left to give USF a 58-55 lead. WSU put up two late three point attempts from Corey Jeffs and Riley Bambanek, but the shots did not fall as the Cougars swept WSU in the season series. WSU defeated USF, 80-69 on Dec. 5, 2015. USF returned the favor with an 83-78 decision at the Stewart Center on Jan. 8, 2016. In Winona, Mack Johnson had 28 points, hitting 4-of-8 from three point range, but WSU shot 28-of-52 from the field to 45.1 percent for USF (23-of-51). Kyle Bauman had 20 points, hitting 8-of-12 shots, while Mark Blaylock provided 15 points for WSU. In the win in Sioux Falls, the Cougars had four players scoring in double digits with M. Johnson scoring 23 while Drew Guebert had 15 and Daniel Hurtt 11.  On Jan. 9, 2015, Winona recorded a 79-64 victory as Corey Jeffs had 29 points, including 7-of-8 from three point range. In the matchup in Sioux Falls, the Cougars took a 76-54 decision at the Stewart Center on Dec. 6, 2014. Mack Johnson scored 19. USF hit 24-of-42 shots for 57.1 percent, including 9-of-17 from three point range. The win was USF's second straight over WSU, taking a 76-69 win on Jan. 18, 2014 as Charles Ward scored 17. In the first meeting of the 2013-14 season, Winona State recorded a 90-65 decision at Winona. In 2012-13, Winona State defeated USF twice, taking a 76-61 win at the McCown Gym on Jan. 15, 2013 and a 73-63 win on Jan. 25, 2013 at the Stewart Center.

Upper Iowa leads series,  9-5
Sioux Falls trails Upper Iowa, 9-5, in the overall series after a 90-78 victory on Dec. 2, 2017 at the Stewart Center. Trevon Evans had 31 points and Drew Guebert, 19, while Carson Parker scored 27 for UIU. In 2016-17, The two teams will meet for the 15th time Friday, Jan. 5 with USF owning a 5-4 lead while members of the NSIC.  On Dec. 3, 2016, UIU took a home 78-76 decision over USF despite 22 points by Guebert. USF, which trailed 41-38 at halftime, drew within 74-73 with 34 seconds to play, and had opportunities to tie or take the lead in the final three minutes but couldn't get the shots to drop.. USF made 23-of-66 shots for 34.8 percent. The Cougars were 11-of-26 three point shots for 42.3 percent. USF defeated Upper Iowa, 73-57 on Jan. 6, 2017. USF limited Upper Iowa to 33.3 percent shooting from the field on 21-of-63 shooting. In addition, the Cougars held UIU to 3-of-20 from three point range or 15 percent. In addition, Leading the Cougars offensively was Mack Johnson, who had 19 points and six rebounds to go with three assists. The series dates to a 100-94 win by Upper Iowa in 1965-66. The Cougars recorded its first win over the Peacocks in 2005 with a 74-56 decision. In 2015- 16, Upper Iowa and USF won on each other's home floor. With Mack Johnson scoring a career high 39 points, USF defeated Upper Iowa, 85-79 on Dec. 5, 2015 in Fayette, Iowa.  Upper Iowa returned the favor with an 81-68 decision on Jan. 9 at the Stewart Center. USF had 15 points from Drew Guebert and 14 from Kebu Johnson. UIU was led by Carson Parker with 23.  The Peacocks won twice in 2012-13 with a 71-62 win in Fayette on Jan. 4, 2013 and an 82-74 decision on Jan. 26, 2013 at the Stewart Center. In the 2013-14 season, USF defeated Upper Iowa, 84-78 at the Stewart Center on Jan. 17, 2014. Earlier in the season, Upper Iowa took a 96-87 win over the Cougars in Fayette on Dec. 14, 2013. The Peacocks recorded a 82-66 win over USF on Dec. 5, 2014 at the Stewart Center and a 100-87 verdict in Fayette, Iowa on Jan. 10, 2015.  

Player Awards --
U.S. Basketball Writers Player of the Week -- Drew Guebert, Nov. 28
NSIC Player of the Week -- Trevon Evans, Nov. 13
NSIC Player of the Week -- Drew Guebert, Nov. 27

How  Cougars stand in NCAA DII Statistics (as of Dec. 29)
Team                
Rebound Margin -- 25th, 7.6 per game
Defensive Rebounds Per Game  --11th, 30.15 per game
Free Throws Made -- 37th, 220
Turnovers Per Game -- 27th, 11.1
Total Blocks -- 24th, 57
Total Rebounds -- 35th, 525
Individual
Scoring -- Drew Guebert, 22nd, 22.1 ppg; Trevon Evans, 49th, 20.7 ppg
Total Points -- Drew Guebert,  16th, 287; Trevon Evans, 46th, 248
Total Field Goals -- Drew Guebert, 14th, 101
Total Field Goal Attempts -- Drew Guebert, 13th, 203; Trevon Evans, 40th, 183

Quick Look - USF  
The Cougars have opened the NSIC at 5-3, following a home weekend split with Wayne State (78-66 loss)  and a 70-61 overtime win over Augustana, which USF has defeated in two of the past three games. Before 1,738 at the Stewart Center, USF rallied from a seven-point deficit with 12:17 to play in the game. Without the services of senior guard Trevon Evans, freshman guard Drew Maschoff stepped up with 15 points and 11 rebounds, hitting three treys in his first career start. Drew Guebert had 18 points, including a game-tying three pointer with 8:57 to play. That shot was part of seven straight points by Guebert. Justin Taylor added 12 points and a career high nine rebounds. He made four free throws in the final 1:19 of overtime to salt the game away.  USF had a 1-2 record in their first NSIC road trip as they fell most recently to Southwest Minnesota State,  86-57, on Dec. 16 in the Cougars' worst shooting performance (32.8 percent) of the season. USF had a season low in points with 57 and second half points with 23.  Trevon Evans had 14 points to lead USF. The Cougars also fell at St. Cloud State, 88-82 on Dec. 8 before rebounding with a 91-66 decision over Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 9. Trevon Evans had 32 points to help USF rally from 16 down in the second half to tie SCSU before the Huskies finished strong in a win. The Cougars had 26 points from Evans and 23 from Drew Guebert as USF lead nearly the entire game of the win over UMD. They lead by as many as 34 in the second half.  USF recorded their first home sweep NSIC sweep of the season with an 80-64 victory over Winona State and the come-from-behind 90-78 decision over Upper Iowa. Drew Guebert had 23 points to lead USF past Winona State, overcoming an 11-2 deficit to open the game. Trevon Evans tied a career high with 31 points, including 27 in the second half, to lift USF to the victory over Upper Iowa.  On Nov. 25, Guebert had a career-best 36 points with 10 rebounds to rally USF to a 91-85 overtime victory over Southwest Minnesota State at the Stewart Center. Evans added 16, including the game-tying basket with 2.8 seconds left in overtime and Jerrod Walton had 18 points, including 7-of-7 from the foul line in overtime.
On Nov. 21, the Cougars had 28 points from Guebert and 21 from Walton in an 89-62 victory over Waldorf at the Stewart Center.  In a loss to Minnesota Crookston on Nov. 18 at Lysaker Gymnasium in Crookston, USF had a 16-point lead but a hot shooting Golden Eagles squad rallied in the second half for the win.  Against UW-Superior, the Cougars opened up a 41-20 advantage at halftime and cruised to the 90-49 win. Guebert scored 22 points with four three-pointers. Evans had 13 points while reserves Aaron Rothermund had a career-high 11 and freshman Chase Grinde added a career-high 10.  In the opening weekend, the Cougars recorded back-to-back overtime wins with the 94-89 decision over host Emporia State and a 96-92 victory over Fort Hays State at the MIAA-NSIC Challenge in Emporia on Nov. 10-11.  Evans, who was named the NSIC Men's Basketball Player of the Week, averaged 29 points and 10.5 rebounds and Guebert supplied 22.5 points per game in the wins at the MIAA-NSIC Classic.

Evans ranks fourth in the NSIC in scoring
Junior guard Trevon Evans ranks fourth in the NSIC in scoring at 20.7 points.  With a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game, he ranks 14th in the NSIC. Evans set career-bests with 32 points and five threes (seven attempts) against St. Cloud State. In the 88-82 loss, he scored 11 points in the final 55 seconds of the game.  In a 91-66 win over UMD on Saturday, Dec. 9, he had 26 points with six rebounds in 30 minutes. In a 50 minute period between the second half of SCSU and first 30 minutes against UMD, he scored 53 points or over a point a minute. He had 31 points, including a career-best 27 points in the second half, to help USF rally to a 90-78 victory over Upper Iowa on Dec. 2. In a 91-85 overtime win over SMSU Nov. 25, Evans had 16 points and had the game-tying basket with 2.8 seconds to play. At the MIAA-NSIC Classic on Nov. 10-11, Evans tallied 28 points and nine rebounds in the 94-89 OT win against Emporia State on Nov. 10. He bettered his performance on the second day, lighting it up for a career-best 31 points and grabbing 12 rebounds as USF defeated Fort Hays State, 96-92 in overtime.  As a result of those performances, he earned NSIC Men's Basketball Player of the Week honors.  Evans has 10 double digit scoring games (28, 31, 13, 14, 16, 14, 31, 32, 26, 14, 22) including six games over 20 points and a team-high three over 30.  He also has one double double .

Guebert ranks 3rd in scoring in NSIC; 22nd nationally
 Drew Guebert has opened 2017-18 season on a tear. He ranks third in the NSIC and 22nd in DII at 22.7 points per game. Through 13 games, Guebert, who is 16th in DII with 287 total points, has eight games of 20 points or more, including twice (36, 32) scoring over 30 points. He has reached 20 points in eight of the last 13 games. After scoring a combined 42 points in a weekend sweep (Dec. 1-2) of Winona State and Upper Iowa,  Guebert became the 33rd player in school history to top 1,000 career points. With 35  combined  points against Wayne State and Augustana,  he now has 1,095 career points for 24th on USF's scoring chart.  With 24 points, he will pass Matt Correa, who is 23rd all-time with 1,118 from 1993-97.   With 165 career threes, he is sixth on USF's career 3-point chart.  To move into fifth all-time in threes, Guebert needs three to pass Adam Burnison, who had 167 from 2000-03. This season, Guebert has been named NSIC South Player of the Week on Nov. 27. With 64 points (28, 32), Guebert was named the U.S.. Basketball Writers Association Player of the Week on Nov. 28. A junior forward from Apple Valley, Minn.,  he has 52 double digit scoring games with 20, 20-point games. This season, he has scored double digits in 12 games and but had a run of 13 straight double digit games end vs SMSU on Dec. 16.