MARSHALL, Minn. – Led by a career-high 27 points from Milan Surlic as well as 22 points from Trevon Evans and 21 from Drew Guebert, the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (6-1, 1-0 NSIC) opened the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) portion of the schedule with a convincing 94-72 win over the defending South Division champions Southwest Minnesota State (5-2, 0-1 NSIC) on Saturday at the R/A Facility.

In the victory, USF ended a 15-game losing streak to the Mustangs in Marshall, Minn. USF, which defeated SMSU for the second time in three meetings, picked up its fifth road or neutral court victory in seven outings this season.

The Cougars earned a sixth win this season by finding its shooting touch after four games of struggles from the field. USF hit 56.4 percent from the field on 31-of-55 shooting and made 10-of-19 for 52.6 percent from three-point range. Additionally, they hit 22-of-27 free throws for 81.5 percent. It was the third time this season USF hit 54 percent or better from the field.

"We had an outstanding performance in nearly every phase of the game," said USF Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Johnson, who recorded his 198^th career win and 182^nd at Sioux Falls. "I felt like our offense was able to get good looks all night and that was hinged on sharing the ball and creating opportunities on the defensive end."

USF, which had 16 assists on 31 made baskets had a 41-to-28 advantage off the glass. USF was effective on the perimeter with the 10 treys but the Cougars also had a 36-to-26 advantage of points in the paint and a 16-to-12 margin in bench points.

The Cougars opened up a 45-33 halftime lead and outscored SMSU, 49-39, in the second half. The Cougars, which led for 37:08 of the game, built its biggest lead of 24 points (80-56) with 7:40 to play in the second half.

Leading the way for USF was Surlic, a junior point guard, who hit 9-of-15 field goals, including a career-best 4-of-7 from three-point range, while making all five of his free throws to score 27 points in 33 minutes. Surlic, who had his second 20-point game of the season, added four rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Both of USF's All-NSIC performers, Guebert and Evans, had big nights to support USF's second-best offensive night of the season of 94 points (99 points vs. Emporia State). Guebert, who now has 1,550 career points and hit his 220^th career three-pointer, had his 31^st 20-point game of his career and his 73^rd double-digit scoring game. He scored 20 or more points for a third straight game and for the fourth time this season. Against SMSU, Guebert made 6-of-10 field goals and 8-of-10 foul shots while grabbing five rebounds with a season-high five assists.

Evans reached 20 points for the third time in four games and fourth overall game this season. He has reached double digits in all seven games this season and the 33^rd time of his career while reaching 20 points in a game for the 20^th time in his time at USF. Evans made 9-of-17 field goals against SMSU with 4-of-7 from three-point range. He added four rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal.

SMSU was led by its all-league guard Ryan Bruggeman, who had 31 points and seven assists. The Mustangs shot 41 percent from the floor on 25-of-61 from the field and made 8-of-22 shots from three-point range while connecting on 14-of-20 foul shots.

Game Breakdown –
In the opening half, the Cougars hit 17-of-33 field goals for 51.5 percent, including 7-of-12 from three-point range, in racing to a 45-33 lead.

After SMSU opened the game with a basket, the Cougars took off on a 13-2 run which was keyed by three-pointers from Aaron Rothermund and Evans for a 13-4 lead with 17:12 to play in the half. With an 11-2 run of its own, SMSU drew even with USF at 15-15 on a pair of foul shots from Taylor Schafer at the 10:40 mark.

Over the next five minutes, USF steadily built the lead back up and took a 33-25 lead with 5:44 to play on a three-pointer by Surlic. After SMSU cut the lead to six (35-29, 3:06), the Cougars used a 7-2 run, which included a three-pointer from Guebert, to take a 42-31 advantage at the 1:53 mark. Two foul shots by Guebert (:42, 1^st half) enabled USF to take the 45-33 advantage to the halftime break.

In the second half, USF shot better than in the opening 20 minutes. The Cougars made 14-of-22 shots for 63.6 percent and added 18-of-21 from the foul line as they extended the margin to as many as 24 points (80-56, 7:40, 2^nd half).

Early in the second half, a three-point play from Teathloach Pal, who had seven points and six rebounds, gave USF a 50-35 advantage at the 18:13 mark. SMSU tried to cut the margin, and with a pair of foul shots from Bruggeman, drew within 12 (52-40, 16:33, 2^nd half). However USF answered quickly with a five-point run as Evans hit a three for a 57-40 advantage.

USF's lead hovered between 13-17 points over the next few minutes until Evans hit a three at the 11:04 mark for a 67-47 lead. Lay-ups from Guebert and Surlic helped USF to the 80-56 lead at the 7:40 mark. From that point, SMSU was able to only reduce the margin to 15 points (84-69, 4:00, 2^nd half) but never made a serious run at the Cougars, which answered every charge with points.

On Dec. 7-8, the Cougars will return to the Stewart Center to face Concordia St. Paul and Minnesota State.