ABERDEEN, S.D. – Despite 27 points from Drew Guebert and 19 by Trevon Evans, No. 21 University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (5-1) dropped a heartbreaking 70-67 nonconference decision to Truman State (2-4) at the Dacotah Bank Thanksgiving BB Classic on Saturday at the Barnett Center.

USF, which led 33-28 at halftime, was outscored 42-34 in the second half as the Bulldogs used three-pointers to create a lead in both halves of play and then had a late steal and lay-up by Turner Scott to pick up the win. On the night, TSU made 14-of-35 three pointers for 40 percent while USF was able to make just 6-of-19 for 31.6 percent.

Despite trailing by eight points with 3:22 to play, USF battled back into a tie. A pair of three-pointers from Guebert in the final two minutes created a 67-67 tie with 53 seconds to play. USF, which trailed by 12 points in the first half (25-13, 9:12, 1^st half), was able to get the ball back with 37 seconds but a steal by TSU's Jacob Socha and a three-point play from Scott helped give the Bulldogs a second straight close win. Scott led TSU, who defeated host school Northern State, 61-59 on Friday night, with 20 points by hitting 8-of-11 field goals and dishing three assists.

Guebert finished with 27 points and four rebounds as he recorded his 30^th 20-point game of his career. A senior from Apple Valley, Minn., he hit 9-of-18 field goals, 3-of-6 from three-point range, and all six of his free throws. With 51 points (27 vs Truman State, 24 vs Chadron State) this weekend, Guebert moved into 10^th place all-time and ahead of USF Sports Hall of Fame member and Lennox, S.D., native Tim Dykstra, who had 1,524 points from 1971-75.  Guebert also has 72 career double figure scoring games with five in six games this season. 

Evans contributed 19 points, six rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal in 37 minutes. Evans, who was 7-of-16 from the field and 1-of-5 from three-point range, reached double digits for the sixth straight game this season and now has 32 in his career.

Senior Justin Taylor also reached double digits in points with 10 while grabbing four rebounds with a pair of steals. Junior guard Milan Surlic added nine points to aid the USF cause.

In a game in which there were six times and five lead changes, TSU's work from its bench proved beneficial. The Bulldogs outscored the Cougars, 17-to-2, in points off the bench.  The Cougars was hurt by their 41.1 percent shooting from the floor on 23-of-56 shooting. However, USF which had a 34-29 edge in rebounds, made 15-of-15 from the foul stripe, which was a season-best performance. TSU outshot USF at 46.4 percent (26-of-56) for the game and made 57.1 percent in the second half (16-of-28) as they overcame a half-time deficit to earn their second win.

Game Breakdown
In the opening three minutes of the game, USF and TSU traded baskets with a three-point play from Surlic tying the game with TSU at 7-7 (16:58).  Then, TSU took off on a 15-6 run which was keyed by three-point shooting. In the opening 12 minutes, TSU hit eight three-pointers in 15 attempts and opened a 28-19 lead but led by as much as 12 points (25-13).

However, the Cougars controlled the final seven minutes of the half by stringing together a 20-3 run to grab a 33-28 halftime lead. USF took a 29-28 lead on a Taylor basket and pushed the lead to five with a couple of scores from Evans. In the opening 20 minutes, Guebert led USF with 16 points as he made 6-of-9 shots from the floor. Evans and Taylor both contributed six points.

Interestingly while TSU hit eight three pointers and USF none, the Cougars shot 46.4 percent (13-of-28), made three more field goals (13-to-10) and had a 7-0 advantage at the foul line. TSU, which hit 35.7 percent from the floor (10-of-28), attempted 22 three pointers and converted eight. USF, which was 0-of-5 from three-point range, owned a 19-14 advantage in rebounds and had six assists on 13 made baskets.   

In the second half, Surlic knocked home a three, the first of the game for USF, to match one by Nathan Messer, who finished with 19 points, as USF led, 38-33, with 18:45 to play in the game. However a hot-shooting TSU group tied the game at 40 before Guebert's three help USF to a 43-40 advantage with 13:38 to play.

A jumper by Scott gave TSU a 44-43 lead before Evans hit a three for a 46-44 lead with 11:28 to play in the game.  But the momentum was clearly ith the Bulldogs, who used an 11-3 run, including a trio of treys, to take a 55-49 lead with 8:52 left to play.

TSU was able to maintain a five-to-eight point lead for the next three minutes as a pair of free throws by Scott provided the Bulldogs with a 65-57 lead at the 3:22 mark. At that point, USF made its run as Guebert keyed a 10-2 run and his second straight three-pointer with 53 seconds left tied the game. USF was able to get a stop after a timeout by the Bulldogs and called their own timeout with 32 seconds to play. Then, Socha and Scott came up with a big defensive play and a conversion on the offensive end to earn a victory in the back-and-forth battle with USF.

The Cougars will now head to Southwest Minnesota State for their NSIC opener in Marshall, Minn., at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1. USF, which has played just one home game to this point, will host Concordia-St. Paul on Dec. 7 and Minnesota State on Dec. 8 at the Stewart Center to open its home conference schedule.