MARSHALL, Minn. – With 26 points from Trevon Evans, 20 points from Milan Surlic and 19 points and eight rebounds from Drew Guebert, the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (2-0) rolled past Emporia State (1-1), 99-63 on Saturday in nonconference action at the MIAA-NSIC Challenge.  This year's tournament between the two elite conferences was hosted by Southwest Minnesota State.

In USF's second straight win to open the season, the Cougars had an explosive offense matched by a stout defensive effort. USF, which has been picked picked to finish third in the NSIC, hit 54.7 percent from the floor on 35-of-64 shooting. They knocked down 17 three-pointers in 34 attempts and made 12-of-15 field goals for 80 percent. And, on defense, the Cougars limited ESU, which defeated Southwest Minnesota State on Friday night, to 28.8 percent shoot (17-of-59) and just 4-of-27 from three-point range.

USF's combination of efficient and effective offense, solid rebounding and swarming defense was noted by USF head coach Chris Johnson, who earned his 194^th career victory.

"We really guarded and rebounded well tonight," said Johnson, whose team had a 43-to-32 rebound edge. "I felt another significant factor was the way we shared the ball on offense, which led to great shots. I also felt Milan (Surlic), Drew (Guebert) and Trevon (Evans) were really good at scoring the ball tonight. But the key was on defense," he said.

After USF and ESU traded leads nine times, the Cougars broke from a 15-15 tie with a 24-12 run to take a 39-27 lead with 5:16 to play in the first half. Then, USF upped the pressure even more with a 13-7 run to close the half for a 52-34 lead. By halftime, Evans had 16 points while Surlic had 15 and Guebert, 14. USF hit 18-of-34 shots in the first half with 11-of-23 coming on three-point shots. USF had a 23-to-15 margin on the boards and four steals.

The Cougars opened the second half on a 15-3 run and led 67-37 with 13:42 to play after a three-ball from Aaron Rothermund, who had nine points on the night. From there, the Cougars continued to dominate on both ends as they led by as many as 39 points on two different occasions.

For the second straight night, USF, which received points from 13 different players, was led by its all-league duo in Guebert and Evans with Surlic putting up his best numbers at USF.

Evans, who was named the NSIC South Division Co-Preseason Player of the Year, made 10-of-18 field goals, including 6-of-12 from three-point range. Evans now has 28 career double digit scoring games with 17 of 20 points or more. He also added four rebounds, five assists and two steals in 28 minutes of action.

Guebert, who is averaging 26.0 points per game this year, had 19 points and eight rebounds with three assists in 30 minutes of play. He hit 7-of-15 shots from the floor and made a trio of treys. Guebert now has 1,456 points and 69 games with double digit points. He also pushed his career three-point total to 211, a mark which ranks second all-time at USF.

As for Surlic, he hit 8-of-11 field goals and 4-of-5 from three-point range in his best performance to date at USF. He also dished five assists in his 31 minutes.

Tourney Review
At the NSIC-MIAA Challenge, USF shot a blistering 56.7 percent shooting mark through two games. USF has also made 29-of-59 three-pointers for 49.2 percent as they have a 94.0 points per game average. At the same time, they have limited opponents to 36.5 percent shooting from the floor and 24 percent from three-point range. 

The 17 three-pointers against Emporia State is the most by a USF men's team since making 20 in 34 attempts on Jan. 22, 2016 at home against Concordia St. Paul. Through two games, USF is averaging 14.5 treys per game.

Also of note, USF has put together an average of 16.5 assists per game while owning a 39.5-to-27.0 rebounds edge.

USF All-NSIC duo of Evans (20.5 ppg) and Guebert (26.0 ppg) are both averaging over 20 points per game while hitting a combined 34-of-62 shots for 54.8 percent fom the floor. They are also 16-of-35 from  three-point range and have totaled 22 rebounds, 14 assists and 93 points.