SIOUX FALLS – The University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team, which has opened 2-0, will host Waldorf University (3-3) in the home season opener at 7 p.m., on Friday, Nov. 16 at the Stewart Center.

Fans unable to come to the Stewart Center tomorrow may follow along on live stats or watch on www.usfcougars.com and listen to the voice of USF Athletics Tom Frederick who will handle play-by-play duties.

The Cougars, which have received votes in the D2SIDA Men's Basketball National Media Poll which was released on Nov. 13, started 2-0 with an 89-70 win over Fort Hays State and a 99-63 victory over Emporia State at the MIAA-NSIC Challenge at Marshall, Minn. As a result, the Cougars drew the attention of national pollsters.

The Cougars, which rank fourth in the NSIC in scoring at 94.0 points per game, will also be part of the MIAA Men's Basketball Challenge on Monday, Nov. 19 at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. The Cougars will face Central Missouri at 4 p.m. CMO was 20-10 a year ago and have opened 2-0 this season with a 73-67 victory over Wayne State and an 85-62 decision over Harding.

Waldorf University has opened 3-4 and lost to Wayne State College, 84-56, on Nov. 13 in an exhibition contest. The last win by WU was a 79-65 decision over Judson University. Former North Dakota standout guard Nigel Jenkins is the head coach for WU. USF and WU have played four times with the Cougars earning wins each time. USF's victories included 67-64, 2012; 78-67, 2013; 80-57, 2015; and 89-62 in 2017.

After two games, senior All-NSIC forward Drew Guebert is third in the league with 26 points per game while All-NSIC guard Trevon Evans is seven with 20.5 points per game. USF, which was picked third overall in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll, finished with a DII-program-best 20-10 record in 2017-18. USF also had a program-high 14 NSIC wins a year ago and finished third in the South Division.

On Guebert and Evans
Guebert, who was named second team All-NSIC a year ago, ranks 11^th in career points at USF with 1,456 points and needs 69 points to move into 10^th place all-time at USF. Tim Dykstra, a USF Athletics Hall of Fame member, is 10^th with 1,524 points from 1971-75. Guebert, a two-time Academic All-NSIC selection, is also second all-time in made three-pointers with 211. Mack Johnson, who played from 2013-17, is the career leader with 232.  Guebert also has 69 double digit scoring games with 28 games of 20 points or more and five games with 30 points or more.

Evans, a 6-0, 175-pound guard from Wichita, Kan., was early this fall named USF's first-ever NSIC Men's Basketball Preseason South Division Player of the Year. Evans, who was first-team All-NSIC and the league's Newcomer of the Year in 2017-18, was selected Co-Player of the Year with Ryan Bruggeman of SMSU in the South.  A year ago, Evans averaged 21.1 points per game, which ranked second in the NSIC and 33^rd in NCAA DII. He was named the NSIC Player of the Week three times and one of those honors followed a career-best 42-point performance at Northern State. With that point total, Evans had the second highest point total in the NSIC and was tied for 25th-best in NCAA DII during 2017-18.  Evans has started this year as he finished a year ago. He is averaging 20.5 points per game with two games in double digit points. He now has 28 double digit scoring games and 17 games of 20 points or more in his career at USF. He has 76 career three-pointers after totaling 67 a year ago. Evans, who has 652 points in his career at USF, is also averaging 4.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds through two games.

Cougars averaged 94.0 points in two wins at tourney
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 from the floor. They are also 16-of-35 from three-point range and have totaled 22 rebounds, 14 assists and 93 points.

USF records 99-63 win over Emporia State
With 26 points from Trevon Evans, 20 points from Milan Surlic and 19 points and eight rebounds from Drew Guebert, USF rolled past Emporia State (1-1), 99-63 on Nov. 10 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 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.  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.

Cougars record 89-70 win over FHSU
Led by 33 points and seven rebounds from Guebert, USF opened the season with a dominating 89-70 nonconference victory over Fort Hays State (0-1) at the NSIC-MIAA Challenge on Nov. 9.  Guebert was joined in double digits by Evans, who had 15 points, four rebounds and four assists, and senior forward Justin Taylor with a career-high 16 points. After the two teams traded points through most of the opening 11 minutes of the game, the Cougars, which have defeated FHSU two straight times, used a 17-2 run over the final 8:23 of the first half to build a 44-23 halftime advantage and never looked back. USF maintained at least a 17-point lead the entire second half when the margin grew as large as 28 points on two different occasions. On the night Guebert hit 12-of-18 field goals and made 4-of-8 from three-point range. Evans, who was named the NSIC Preseason South Co-Player of the Year, logged his 27^th career double digit game at USF in little more than one year. On the night, Evans made 5-of-11 shots from the field and 3-of-7 from three-point range. With the senior trio of Evans, Guebert and Taylor hitting 23-of-38 shots (61 percent), USF had an outstanding night shooting. As a unit, USF hit 33-of-56 field goals for 58.9 percent. They were 12-of-25 from three-point range for 48 percent. Meanwhile, FHSU struggled against a swarming USF defense.  

Kettner signs with USF
This week, Jake Kettner of New Ulm, Minn, signed with USF and will continue his academic and athletic career with the Cougars in the fall of 2019. Kettner, a 6-4, 185-pound guard, is a two-sport standout (football and basketball) from Minnesota Valley Lutheran and the first of USF's 2018-19 signing class. With his senior season about to start, Kettner already has accumulated 1,239 points, 410 rebounds, 278 assists and 175 steals in his career. The son of Kory Kettner, and Jody Hunstad, Kettner, who played for the Minnesota Rise Club team, has been named twice to the Tomahawk All-Conference Team as well as to the All Journal Team in basketball. He has hit 45 percent from the field, including 36 percent from three-point range and 71 percent at the foul line.  As a junior, Kettner averaged 22 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.4 steals for Minnesota Valley Lutheran which finished 18-10 and 11-5 in league play. In football, Kettner was named a two-time all-conference wide receiver and to the All-East Subdistrict Team. At USF, Kettner, who has seven siblings, will major in business.
The USF Men's Basketball Team (2-0) has opened the 2018-19 season with a pair of wins and will host Waldorf College at 7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 16 at the Stewart Center.
 
USF Head Coach Chris Johnson leads program
University of Sioux Falls head men's basketball coach Chris Johnson, who was named the school's 22nd head coach in 2008, has begun his 11th season at the helm of the program. The Cougars are 2-0 this season and Johnson is 194-147 in his career with a 178-132 mark at USF.

Since taking over, Johnson, who is USF's career wins leader, has guided the Cougars to five 20-win seasons, three post-season appearances, two conference tournament championships and one regular season conference crown. Just twice in his run have the Cougars finished below .500. In fact, he has led the team to 15 wins nine times and recorded five 20-win seasons with the 25-10 campaign in 2009-10 the best finish. At the NCAA DII level, USF's mark of 20-10 in 2017-18 is a program-best. The 2017-18 team also finished 14-8 (5th overall) in league play and that is also the top mark for league wins.

He has compiled a 106-40 mark at home and a 56-81 road record with a 16-11 mark on a neutral floor. In NSIC play, he has a 60-72 record, including a 47-26 mark in home league games and 23-43 mark in away games. Johnson is 3-6 in postseason. He is also 49-4 in nonconference games.

Before arriving in Sioux Falls, Johnson was the top assistant coach for three seasons at the University of North Dakota. Prior to joining the UND coaching staff, Johnson spent the 2004-05 season as head coach at Culver-Stockton College. In his lone season as head coach, Johnson led the Wildcats to a 16-15 record, an improvement from the team's 12-19 record the season prior to his arrival. He was named 2004-05 Heart of America Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after guiding the team to the first home conference playoff game in program history. Prior to arriving at Culver-Stockton, Johnson served as an assistant coach at Minot State from 2001-04. Before that he served as an assistant at Minnesota State, Mankato (1999-2001) and Central College (1998-99) in Pella, Iowa. Johnson was a two-year starter as a guard, lettering four times, at Central College and graduated in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in exercise science. He received a master's degree in sports administration from Minnesota State, Mankato, in 2005. Johnson and his wife, Amy, have four children including Bailey, TJ, Zeke and Lucy.