ABERDEEN, S.D. – Led by dual 20-point plus performances from the All-NSIC tandem of Trevon Evans and Drew Guebert, the University of Sioux Falls (5-0) opened the season with its fifth straight win after a  78-70 decision over Chadron State at the Dacotah Bank Thanksgiving Basketball Classic on Friday.

Guebert finished with 24 points and six rebounds as he surpassed 1,500 points (1,502) in his career with his 29^th career 20-point game. He also has 71 career double figure scoring games with four in five games this season. He was 7-of-19 from the field, 2-of-6 from three-point range and 8-of-12 from the foul line in 37 minutes in the win over Chadron State.

Evans added 22 points, including 21 points in the second half, as he surpassed 20 points in a game for the second straight outing. Evans, who was 6-of-14 from the field and 1-of-4 from three-point range, cashed in with nine foul shots in 14 tries at the foul line. He added six rebounds, three assists, a block and steal in 34 minutes against the Eagles. Evans has reached double digits in five straight games with 20 points or more three times. Evans has 19, career 20-point games and 31 double-digit scoring games in his career.

USF, which also received 11 points, four assists and three rebounds from junior guard Milan Surlic, struggled from the field. After shooting 24.2 percent in the opening half, USF improved their shooting to 48.1 percent in the second half as they finished at 35 percent for the game on 21-of-60 shooting. USF was just 4-of-14 for 28.6 percent from three-point range. However, USF had a season-high 32 free throws on 46 attempts for 69.3 percent, which proved important in the win. In the game, the teams were whistled for 56 total fouls (USF, 33) and combined to shoot 77 free throws. CSC was 25-of-31 from the game.

USF, which had a game-high 11 boards with eight points from senior forward Justin Taylor, was the leading rebounding squad in the NSIC entering play tonight and used their board work to an advantage against CSC. The Cougars had a 49-to-39 advantage which included 17 offensive boards. One of the league's top defensive units, USF also forced 15 turnovers while registering seven steals and four blocks.

Game Breakdown -
After trailing 7-1 early (14:42), the Cougars had a 15-1 run to grab a nine-point lead with 7:05 to play in a low-scoring first half. While they didn't trail the rest of the game, CSC made several runs at the Cougars, which received a lay-up from forward William Lybaek with three seconds to play to create a little separation of five points at 31-26 at halftime. USF, which made just 24.2 percent of its shots (8-of-33) in the first half, was led by 11 points from Guebert. USF was also just 1-of-9 (11.1 percent) from three-point range but made 14-of-19 (73.7 percent) foul shots to stay in front.

In the second half, USF fought off a number of challenges from the Eagles and with an overall 47-44 advantage picked up the win. CSC cut the lead to 34-33 on a three-pointer by Brady Delimont, who had nine points, with 17:27 to play. USF had a 12-6 run for a 46-39 advantage with 12:29 to play. However, the Eagles rallied again and closed within 48-46 at the 10:30 mark. At that point, Guebert hit a three-pointer for a 51-46 lead (9:34, 2^nd). Then, Evans had a four-point run as the Cougars took a 55-46 lead at the 8:43 mark. 

USF maintained their lead and pushed it to 11 at 63-52 when Evans converted a pair of free throws (4:55, 2^nd). USF added a three-pointer and two foul shots from Guebert for a 70-56 lead at the 3:23 mark of the second half.  The Eagles closed the gap to seven points with 1:33 to play on a pair of foul shots by Michael Sparks, who had a team-high 22 points, but drew no closer.

USF will face Truman State at 4 p.m. on the second day of the Dacotah Bank Basketball Classic on Saturday, Nov. 24 at the Barnett Center.