ST. CLOUD, Minn. – A late rally keyed by seniors Drew Guebert and Trevon Evans came up a little short as the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (8-3, 3-2 NSIC) dropped an 83-73 decision to St. Cloud State (9-2, 4-1 NSIC) in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) North-South matchup at Halenbeck Hall on Saturday night.

Guebert scored 16 of his game-high 23 points in the second half to rally USF from an 18-point deficit (55-37, 13:12, 2^nd half) to within four at 71-67 with 5:02 to play. Evans, who had 19 points, scored seven points during the 30-16 run. However, SCSU, which had 22 points from Gage Davis and Sean Smith, stopped the run with timely baskets down the stretch. Davis had six points in the final three minutes and Smith had a basket and pair of free throws to hold off the fast-charging Cougars.

SCSU opened up a 34-29 lead at halftime and outscored USF, 49-44 in the second half to take the decision in a game between two of the preseason favorites in the NSIC.
"We made a great run at them in the last 10 minutes but had built up too big a hole," said USF Head Coach Chris Johnson, who won his 200^th career game in a win over Minnesota Duluth on Friday night. "Drew (Guebert) caught fire and Trevon (Evans) also had big plays but give SCSU credit, they held us off," he said.

Guebert, who was named All-NSIC a year ago, hit 10-of-16 shots from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range for his 23 points. He added six rebounds, two assists, a block and steal in 32 minutes. With his 23 points, the senior from Apple Valley, Minn., moved into eighth on USF's career scoring list with 1,639 points as he passed USF Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Herb Buckner, who had 1,633 points from 1966-70. With his three treys against SCSU, he now has 228 in his career and is just four from all-time leader Mack Johnson with 232 from 2013-16. With his 23 points, Guebert reached 20 points or more for the 34^th time in his career and now has 77 double-digit scoring games in 103 career games.

As for Evans, he reached double figures in scoring for the 15^th straight game, including his 11^th consecutive time in the 2018-19 season. Evans, who was 6-of-15 shots from the field and 3-of-7 from three-point range, also had an assist, steal and rebound.  With six treys this weekend, he now has 98 in his career at USF.

USF also received double-digit points from redshirt freshman Chase Grinde, who had 11 points, three rebounds and an assist. Grinde made 5-of-11 field goals and 1-of-3 from distance. Redshirt sophomore Teathloach Pal and senior Justin Taylor both had eight rebounds for USF, which won the rebound battle, 37-26.

The biggest difference in the game was SCSU's field goal shooting and success from the foul stripe. The Huskies outshot USF, 54.7 percent (29-of-53) to 45.2 percent (28-of-62) from the field. USF had nine treys in 24 attempts for 37.5 percent while SCSU was 6-of-19 for 31.6 percent. At the foul line, the Huskies made 19-of-21 for 90.5 percent while USF was 8-of-11 for 72.7 percent.

While USF had an a 36-to-32 points advantage in the paint and a 13-4 margin in second chance points, they were outscored, 16-to-10 by SCSU in points off turnovers.

Game Breakdown –
In a game in which SCSU led from start to finish, the Huskies continually built leads, some of double margin, before USF rallied. In the opening 3:20 of the game, SCSU took an 8-0 lead after a dunk by Jace Kitchen with 16:40 to play. USF responded with five straight points, including a three from Guebert. However SCSU took a 21-11 lead after a layup from Diamond Onwuka.

A three-pointer from Evans and a lay-up by Guebert cut the SCSU lead to 24-20 with 3:499 t0 play in the first half. Evans converted a lay-up with 56 seconds left to draw USF with two but the Cougars had a turnover and basket in the final seconds to take a 34-29 lead to halftime. While USF was 11-of-29 for 37.9 percent from the field (4-of-11 from three-point range), SCSU hit 14-of-29 (4-of-12 from three) for 48.3 percent to build a five-point lead.

In the second half, SCSU opened on a rush, using a 21-8 run to take a 55-37 advantage at the 13:12 mark. USF had the answer as Evans and Milan Surlic both knocked down three to cut the lead to 57-43 with 11:32 to play.

Down 17 at 64-47 with 9:47 to play, Guebert and Evans went to work. Over the next 4:43 of the game, USF had a 24-11 run to cut SCSU's lead to 75-71 with 2:57 to play. Guebert had 10 points in the run and Evans provided seven.

Then, Davis and Smith combined for 10 points for SCSU as they held off the Cougars and defeated USF for the 13^th time in 15 meetings.

USF will now be off until Sunday, Dec. 30 when they host travel partner Southwest Minnesota State at the Stewart Center at 4 p.m.