MARSHALL, Minn. – Led by 33 points and seven rebounds from senior All-NSIC forward Drew Guebert, a hot-shooting University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (1-0) opened the season with a dominating 89-70 nonconference victory over Fort Hays State (0-1) at the NSIC-MIAA Challenge on Friday.  Guebert was joined in double digits by fellow All-NSIC guard Trevon 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.

USF Head Coach Chris Johnson, who picked up his 193^rd career win, including No. 177 at USF, was pleased with his team's opening night performance. "I thought we played exceptionally well on the defensive end and rebounded the ball. Those are certainly important keys for us to be successful," said Johnson, who team is now 2-2 over the past four years with FHSU at the MIAA-NSIC Challenge. "I also like how we executed on offense and made shots. We had a lot of good looks and converted them. It was a good start to the season," he said.

On the night Guebert hit 12-of-18 field goals and made 4-of-8 from three-point range. Guebert, who had 24 points by halftime, now has five games of 30 or more points in his career and reached 20 points or more for the 28^th time. He also pushed his career point total to 1,437 and his double digit career mark to 68. 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. The Tigers hit 44.6 percent from the field of 25-of-56 shooting and were 8-of-23 from three-point range. Aaron Nicholson and Jared Vitztum led FHSU with 11 points each.

Game Breakdown
Led by 24 points from Guebert and 13 from Taylor, the Cougars built a 44-23 halftime lead over FHSU. USF was 15-of-27 from the field for 55.6 percent and 7-of-14 from 3-point range. In the first half, USF had a 13-2 edge in second change points and a 14-6 margin of points in the paint.

In the opening 11 minutes, the score was tied three times with six lead changes. Early on, Taylor was on fire and hit a pair of three-pointers as the Cougars took a 13-9 lead. Guebert went to work shortly thereafter as USF pushed the lead to 23-16 with 10:11 to play. After leading 27-21 at the 8:35 mark of the first half, the Cougars outscored FHSU, 17-2, for the 21-point halftime lead (44-23). In that run, USF put together an 11-0 run to take a 38-21 advantage with four minutes to play and closed on a 6-2 run.

Like the opening half, the teams traded points early in the second half as Murlan Surlic, who led USF with six assists, hit a three-pointer at the 18:19 mark for a 50-29 advantage.  FHSU continued to try to make runs at USF but each time they cut the margin under 20 points, USF also had the answer. Down 19, Evans hit a three for a 55-33 lead. At the 14:06 mark, FHSU again cut the margin to 19 (59-40) but Evans and Guebert combined for nine points as the Cougars extended their lead to 68-42 at the 10:51 mark.

From there, USF moved the margin to 28 points when redshirt freshman Chase Grinde, who had seven points and two rebounds in 17 minutes, converted inside for a 28-point lead at 75-47.  At the 6:07 mark, Austin Slater had a lay-up and USF an 81-53 lead with the game clearly decided.

Next up for USF will be a game with Emporia State at 6 p.m. on Saturday on the second day of the MIAA-NSIC Challenge.