SIOUX FALLS ARENA – Trevon Evans had 23 points and Aaron Rothermund added a career-high 21 to lead the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (17-8, 12-7 NSIC) to its fourth straight win with an 88-86 decision over city rival Augustana (14-11, 9-10 NSIC) before 3,491 in attendance.

With the victory, the Cougars moved to 17-8 on the season, tying the most wins in the school's NCAA DII era. In addition, USF retained a tie for third in the NSIC South at 12-7, with the 12 victories tying the Cougars' 2013-14 squad for its most league wins in the DII era. The Cougars also swept the Vikings in a season for the first time since 1941. The Cougars, which defeated the Vikings, 70-61 in overtime on Dec. 31, recorded a 56-38 win over AU on Feb. 1, 1941 and a 42-40 decision on Feb. 11, 1941.

"This was an important win for us," said USF Men's Head Basketball Coach Chris Johnson, who recorded his 173rd career win. "We battled all night with a solid team and found a way to pull out a road win. Aaron Rothermund, Zach Wessels, Drew Guebert and Trevon Evans all had big games again for us. It was nice to see the great effort off the bench from nearly everyone," added Johnson, whose team defeated Augustana for the third time in four games, including the second straight at the Sioux Falls Arena.

The Cougars, which will face Wayne State at Rice Auditorium at 6 p.m. on Saturday, have now recorded four straight wins for the second time this season.  The victory also helped USF move closer to a first round playoff game at the Stewart Center as the top four teams in each division of the NSIC host first round matchups.

Rothermund, a junior from Papillion, Neb., was 7-of-12 from the floor, including tying a career-high four three-pointers. He also made 3-of-4 free throws including one in the final seconds. On the night, Rothermund also had three assists and three steals. As for Evans, he had his 22nd double digit scoring game and his 13th game of more than 20 points. He had 14 points in the second half after supplying nine in the opening 20 minutes. Evans, who was 9-of-13 from the floor, knocked in a trio of threes and added three rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot.

Drew Guebert recorded 18 points, all in the first half when he knocked in four three-pointers, which moved him into second place all-time at USF with 194. With those treys, the junior from Apple Valley, Minn., passed Derek Brown (2010-14) and Ryan Coapstick (2001-03), who had 193 in their careers. Guebert also moved into a tie with Dylan Kvaale (2003-07) for 12th all-time on USF's career scoring list with 1,307 points.  

Wessels, a senior from Austin, Minn., had double digits in points against Augustana for the fourth straight game. Wessels, who passed 600 (609) points for his career, made 5-of-6 field goals, added 3-of-5 from the foul line, dished three assists, grabbed two rebounds and blocked a shot in 24 minutes of action.

USF built as much as a 10 point lead (33-23, 7:20) in the first half before taking a 46-41 lead to the break. In the second half, the Vikings outscored the Cougars, 45-42. However, the Cougars built a 79-67 lead  with 4:29 to play before Augie made a late run, pulling within 87-86 with six seconds to play. Rothermund made 1-of-2 free throws with 5.2 seconds to go and a late shot by the Vikings was off-line as the Cougars cut AU's all-time series lead to 36-35.

For the fifth time in eight games, USF shot better than 50 percent from the field, hitting 33-of-65 shots for 50.8 percent. The Cougars hit 12 three-pointers (28 attempts) for the second straight game. While USF lost the rebound battle, 34-31, they committed fewer turnovers (11-to-13) and had 10 assists on 33 made baskets.
The Vikings, which hit 33-of-64 from the field for 51.6 percent, placed all five starters in double digits, including 19 points and nine rebounds from Adam Dykman and 19 points and eight boards from Marcus Asmus. While the Viking had a 12-to-10 edge in free throws, the Cougars had a 12-to-8 margin in made three-pointers.  The Vikings had the advantage inside with a 48-to-30 margin of points in the paint while USF had a 19-to-10 edge in second chance points and 22-to-6 in points off the bench.

Game Breakdown

In a back and forth first half with four ties and two lead changes, the Cougars, led by 18 points from Guebert, took a 46-41 halftime lead. Guebert was 6-of-12 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range. Evans and Rothermund both add nine as the Cougars hit 17-of-37 from the field for 45.9 percent. The Cougars, led by Guebert, made 7-of-18 from three point range and held a 20-14 advantage on the boards. USF, which had a 16-to-3 advantage on second chance points, had 11 assists on its 17 baskets. John Warren, who finished with 16 points, led Augustana with 13, including a basket to end the half.

Off a feed from Teathloach Pal, Evans opened the scoring for a 2-0 lead. AU answered with five straight points before Guebert's first three tied the game. Guebert again connected from three-point range as USF tied the game at 12 with 16 minutes to play.  Then, Guebert hammered another three and Evans knocked in a jumper as the Cougars built a 22-17 lead (12:32).  

USF took its largest lead of the half when Rothermund had a pair of free throws and lay-up for the 33-23 advantage (7:20). The Vikings responded with eight straight points to draw within 33-31 at the five-minute mark of the half. Justin Taylor, who had five first half points and two boards, made a three and Guebert hit a jumper to help the Cougars take a 46-41 lead to halftime.

In the second half, the Cougars opened quickly as Rothermund and Evans had threes for a 56-47 lead with 16:40 to play.  But the Vikings rallied as Dykman's lay-up with 10:25 left cut the USF advantage to 61-59. The Cougars again responded as senior Tom Aase came off the bench to knock down a jumper and a four-point cushion. With 6:42 to play, Rothermund's drive and score pushed USF's advantage to 72-65.

The Cougars continued to build on their advantage as Rothermund's three keyed a 7-2 run and the Cougars had its biggest lead of the game at 79-67 with 4:29 to play. At that point, the Vikings made a last charge at USF, using a pair of threes from Jordan Spencer, who had 13 points, to trim the lead to 79-75 with 2:29 to play.

A Wessels jumper pushed the margin back to five at 81-76 but the Vikings answered with a lay-up from Steven Schaefer. Then Rothermund struck from deep again with his fourth three of the game, pushing the lead back to five at 84-79. In the final 24 seconds both Wessels and Rothermund made 1-of-2 free throws which was just enough to hold off the charging Vikings, who pulled as close as 87-86 with six seconds to go. However, Spencer last gasp three was short as the Cougars prevailed.