SIOUX FALLS -- The University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (17-9, 12-8 NSIC South, 3rd) which has won seven-of-10 games, will close the regular season at home with games against Concordia-St. Paul (5-21, 4-16 NSIC) on Friday (Feb. 16) at 8 p.m., and  Minnesota State (20-6, 16-4 NSIC) at 6 p.m., Saturday (Feb. 17) at the Stewart Center.

The USF-CSP game will be broadcast live on the Midco Sports Network with David Brown handling play-by-play and Jordan Dalton on analyst duties.  This is the fourth straight week that USF has been on the Midco Sports Network Friday night broadcast, including the second time at the Stewart Center. Two weeks ago (Feb. 2) , USF defeated U-Mary and on Feb. 9 defeated Augustana, 88-86. Brown and Dalton have been on three of the calls with USF 2-1 in those three previously televised games.

 With two games to play, USF, which had a four-game winning streak snapped at Wayne State on Feb. 10 (78-66 loss), has already clinched a first round NSIC Tournament game. USF will host such a game for the first time in the program's  NCAA DII era on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at the Stewart Center.  

Last weekend USF split a pair of games, upending Augustana, 88-86, at the Sioux Falls Arena. Led by 23 points from Trevon Evans and a career-high 21 by Aaron Rothermund, the Cougars built a 12-point lead late and held off a charge by the Vikings. The victory enabled the Cougars to sweep the Vikings 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. With the victory, the Cougars recorded their 17th win of the season, tying the 2015-16 squad for most wins in the NCAA DII era.  In addition, USF tied the program-mark of 12.

On Saturday, Feb. 10 in Wayne, Neb., USF had 16 points from Drew Guebert and 15 from senior Zach Wessels but dropped a 78-64 decision at Wayne State.

Wessels, Aase  to be honored by USF on Senior Day Saturday

This weekend, USF will honor seniors Tom Aase, who wears #14, and Zach Wessels, who dons the #11 jersey, both of Austin, Minn.. The two seniors have made a significant impact on the off the floor for the USF program, according to USF head coach Chris Johnson, who describe both as outstanding leaders and teammates and players who have led by example.

"Zach is one of the toughest players we have ever  coached, he has always been willing to do whatever it takes for the team to be successful," said Johnson. "He has been a very important player for our team since he walked on campus four years ago.  A great teammate in every way, Zach is everything we could want in a student-athlete."
Johnson also spoke highly of Aase, who has filled in where needed throughout his time with the program.  

"Tom has had many different roles in his five years in the program," said Johnson. "He has embraced them all and done a great job doing whatever the team needed.  Tom has always been an important part of our program in anchoring our defense with his effort and shot blocking.  Tom is a great mentor and teammate to all in the program. "
In their four years with USF, Wessels and Aase played in a combined 227 games for USF with 108 career starts.  

Wessels, a 6-2, 185 senior  exercise major from Austin, Minn., has played in 114 games, which ranks top-10 in school history. Wessels, who has made 55 starts, owns 240 career assists, which ranks ninth in school history. The son of Todd and Sherri Wessels, he has accumulated 624 points and 337 rebounds. In his career at USF , he has 24 double digit scoring games, including two over 20 points (21 vs. Augustana, 12/31/16; 20 vs Bemidji State, 1-13-17). Wessels, whose 112 assists in 2016-17 ranks 11th best in a season in school history, was named NSIC Player of the Week on Jan. 16, 2017, after scoring 20 points with 10 assists in a win over Bemidji State in 2017 and following up with 11 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in a road win over Minnesota Crookston. He is the only player in USF 's DII history with back-to-back games of nine assists. This season he has averaged 6.0 points, 2.8 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game and totaled five double digit scoring games.

Aase, a 6-6, 220 pound senior business administration major from Austin, Minn., ranks at the top of shot blockers in school history. Aase ranks first with a program DII-best 143 blocked shots, including a program D2 best 56 in 2015-16. Two times he has had five blocks in a game with 38 games of two or more blocks and five of four or more blocks. Aase, the son of Mark and April Aase, has recorded five double digit scoring games with a career high of 15 against St. Cloud on Dec. 9, 2016. Aase, who had a double double against Young Harris in 2014, has four double digit rebound games.

USF leads Concordia-St. Paul, 12-4 in all-time series
Against the Golden Bears at the DII level, USF is 7-3  and 12-4 overall.  In St. Paul on Jan. 20, 2018, the Cougars had 22 points from Trevon Evans and 17 by Aaron Rothermund in an 85-64 victory over CSP, USF's third straight win and fourth in five games in the series.  The Cougars, which hit 17-of-30 shots from the field in the first half, including 5-of-11 from three-point range, opened up a 41-28 halftime margin. The Cougars, which hit 54 percent (34-of-63) for the game, outscored the Golden Bears, 44-36, in the second half. Bryndan Matthew and Eliott Kane had 13 points each. In the 2016-17 season, the Cougars swept CSP, including a 73-69 decision at the Ganglehoff Center on Feb. 17, 2017.  Mack Johnson scored 28 points with seven rebounds while Zach Wessels and Daniel Hurtt both had 14 points. Bryndan Matthew led CSP with 24 points and nine rebounds. USF also took a 93-70 decision on Jan. 21 at the Stewart Center. Drew Guebert had 23 points and five three pointers while Clint Thomas added 19 points and three triples at USF was 12-of-24 from distance. In 2015-16, the Cougars set a school record by hitting 20 triples on 28 attempts in a 110-90 victory over CSP at the Stewart Center on Jan. 22, 2016.   In the match up in St. Paul, CSP took a 78-63 decision on Feb. 20, 2016. Matthews had 16 points and seven rebounds. Thomas led USF with 12.

How things stand for Concordia St. Paul
Head Coach Joey James, a former University of South Dakota player and coach, leads the Golden Bears,which is 5-21 overall and 4-16 in league play. CSP has gone 2-3 over its past five games with an 88-85 overtime road win over Minnesota Duluth on Feb. 3. Last weekend, they dropped home decisions to Winona State, 90-56; and Upper Iowa, 74-73.  The Golden Bears, which is averaging 68.5 ppg, is led by forward Bryndan Matthews, eighth in the NSIC at 17.2 ppg. He is also seventh in rebounding in the league at 7.3 per game.  CSP has done well on the boards, ranking fifth in the NSIC at 35.4 per game and they sit third in rebounding defense at 31.4 per game.  

MSU leads USF, 15-2 in all-time series
Since moving to NCAA DII, the Cougars trail MSU, Mankato, 11-0 (15-2 overall), including a 99-82 loss to the Mavericks in Mankato on Jan. 19. Despite 28 points from Drew Guebert and 24 from Trevon Evans, the Cougars were outscored by the Mavericks, which  hit 13-of-20 shots from three-point range and 56.1 percent from the field for the game. MSU was led by Kevin Krieger with 24 points and Chris Kendrix added 1- points.  The Cougars suffered a heartbreaking 68-67 loss on Jan. 20, 2017  at the Stewart Center as Cole Harper made a driving lay-up in the closing seconds.  Guebert led the Cougars with 18 points and Clint Thomas had 16 in the setback.  After Daniel Hurtt made 1-of-2 three throws the Cougars had a 67-63 lead before MSU rallied with a three from Austin Arias (:19) and Harper made the game-winning shot with one second to play. On Feb. 18, 2017, MSU defeated USF, 79-67, despite 21 points from Mack Johnson at the Taylor Center in Mankato. In the 2015-16 season, MSU took an 80-70 decision on Feb. 19, 2016 at the Taylor Center and a 70-68 decision at the Stewart Center on Jan. 23, 2016.

Quick take on Minnesota State
 Directed by veteran head coach Matt Margenthaler, Minnesota State comes into the weekend with two wins and two losses in the last four games. On Friday, the Mavericks face SMSU in Marshall, Minn., with the two teams separated by one game in the overall standings with MSU at 16-4 and SMSU at 15-5. However, the Mavs have a three-game edge in the divisional stands at 11-1 to 8-4 for the Mustangs.  On Jan. 20, 2018, MSU defeated SMSU, 72-70, at the Taylor Center. If MSU wins 1-of-2 games this weekend, they earn a share of the NSIC South and claimed the top seed in the NSIC South. MSU is the league's top shooting three-point team at 43.4 percent, which ranks third in NCAA DII. Charlie Brown leads the offense at 16.2 ppg and 3.8 apg. Kevin Krieger supplies 16.1 ppg and is hitting 55.6 percent from three-point range. Chris Kendrix is adding 12.3 ppg and 7.0 rpg for MSU, which is the league's top-scoring outfit at 83.5 ppg.

Cougar Tracks
~ USF has opened with 17 wins in first 26 games for the first time since 2011 -12 season when the Cougars started 17-8 (finishing 20-9) in its last year in the NAIA.
~ Junior forward Drew Guebert has 1,323 career points and has moved up to 14th on USF all-time scoring chart. He is the 33rd player to surpass 1,000 points in his career.   
~ A rarity, USF has had two players record double doubles of over 30 points and 10 rebounds. Trevon Evans had career highs with 31 points and 12 rebounds against Ft. Hays State while  Drew Guebert had a career-best 36 points with 10 rebounds against SMSU on Nov. 25 when USF rallied for a 91-85 overtime win at the Stewart Center.
~ Between Evans and Guebert, they have a combined seven games over 30 points and 24 games of 20 points or more. Evans scored a USF D2 program best 42 points against NSU on Jan. 26, had 31 against Fort Hays State, 31 against Upper Iowa and a career-high 32 on the road against St. Cloud State. Guebert had his career-high 36 points in the overtime win at home against SMSU, 31 at Winona State on Jan. 5 and 32 in the victory over Fort Hays State.
~ The Cougars have had four players (Jerrod Walton, 2; Aaron Rothermund, 1; Trevon Evans, 13; and Drew Guebert, 12) combine for 28 games of 20 points or more.
~ In total, USF has a combined 79 double digit scoring games  from 10 players including Guebert, 23; Evans, 22; Walton, 7; Rothermund, 7; Wessels, 6; Teathloach Pal, 3; Justin Taylor, 3; Drew Maschoff, 5; Austin Slater, 2; and Chase Grinde, 1.
~ Seven times, including Slater (17), Pal (13, 13, 10) Evans (12, 10), Maschoff (11) and Guebert (10) have recorded double digit rebounds. Evans and Pal have two double doubles, Guebert, Maschoff and Slater one. Slater had 17 points and 13 rebounds against SMSU, 11/25/17; Guebert, 36 points and 10 rebounds against SMSU, 11/25/17; and Evans, 31 points and 12 rebounds against Fort Hays State, 11/11/17 and 29 points and 10 rebounds in a win over MSUM on Jan. 27. In his first career start, Maschoff recorded career-bests of 15 points and 11 rebounds in an overtime win over Augustana, 70-61, at the Stewart Center. Teachloach Pal had a team-high and career best 13 rebounds in the win over Minnesota Crookston and also grabbed a career-high 13 boards with 10 points in the win over Minot State. He also had a double double of 11 points and 10 rebounds against Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 9.
~ Twice this season, USF has shot over 50 percent for three straight games.
~ USF has outrebounded 18-of-26 opponents team this season, including 15 teams by at least six rebounds, which has enabled them to lead the NSIC at 37.9 per game. When USF outrebounds opponents, they are 15-2 in 2017-18. The Cougars rank second in the NSIC in rebound margin at 5.9. The Cougars have had over 40 boards 10  times with a high of 50 against both SMSU on Nov. 25 and Augustana on New Years Eve (12-31-17). In fact, USF has had a double digit margin over opponents in rebounds 10 times.
~ In its 17 wins, USF has outshot opponents from the field 13 times with a season-best 56.3 percent against Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 9. The Cougars have shot at least 50 percent nine times.
~ USF has had 10 or more threes in a game seven times, including a season high 12 three times - Augustana, Feb. 9; Minot State, Feb. 3; and Wisconsin-Superior, Nov. 14.
~ Redshirt freshman Austin Slater recorded his first career double double with 13 points and 17 rebounds in 91-85 OT win over SMSU in November. He had totaled just five points and seven rebounds before his big game on Nov. 25. In fact, the 17 rebounds represents the most by a USF player since Kelly Hubbard had 19 on Jan. 13, 2009 (16 points, 18 rebounds, 85-84 win over Northwestern).
~ USF is 6-5 when trailing at halftime, 11-4 when leading at the break and 10-2 in home games.
~ USF has scored at least 41 points in the second half of 14-of-26 games and has had 45 or  more second half points six times.
~ USF has had at least one block in 25-of-26 games. USF, second in the NSIC in blocks at 3.9 per game, have had at least two blocks in 24-of-26 games with a high of eight twice (U-Mary, Wayne State).
~ For stat nerds, Drew Guebert is an effective field goal percentage of 53.3 percent (accounting that three point shots have more value than two point field goals) and a true shooting percentage of 57.7 percent (player's shooting efficiency - accounting for field goals, three pointers and free throws in one metric) while accounting for 27.9 percent of plays by USF on offense. Trevon Evans has a 55.2 percent effective field goal percentage, 59.3 true shooting percentage and accounts for 31.1 percent of the USF plays. The Cougars have a team offensive rating at 109.3 and team defensive rating of  101.7 per game.

Player Awards --
U.S. Basketball Writers Player of the Week -- Drew Guebert, Nov. 28
NSIC Player of the Week -- Trevon Evans, Nov. 13, Jan. 29
NSIC Player of the Week -- Drew Guebert, Nov. 27, Jan. 8, Feb. 5

How  Cougars stand in NCAA DII Statistics (as of Feb. 14, 2018)
Team                
Free Throws Made -- 50th, 400
Free Throws Attempted -- 64th, 546
Rebound Margin -- 28th, 5.9 per game
Defensive Rebounds Per Game--36th, 27.92 per game
Total Blocks -- 40th, 102
Blocked Shots Per Game, 53rd, 3.9
Total Rebounds -- 29th, 985
 
Individual
Scoring --  Trevon Evans, 46th, 20.3 ppg; Drew Guebert, 52nd, 19.8 ppg
Total Points -- Drew Guebert,  26th, 515; Trevon Evans, 34th, 507
Total Field Goals -- Drew Guebert, 29th, 179;  Trevon Evans, 29th, 179
Total FG Attempts --  Drew Guebert, 14th, 391; Trevon Evans, 20th, 379

Evans ranks third in the NSIC in scoring
After scoring 71 points with 10 rebounds, 12 3's, and five assists on Jan. 26-27, Evans earned his second NSIC South Division Player of the Week honor on Jan. 29. As a result, he is 41st nationally and third in the NSIC in scoring. Evans, who is 12th in DII with 479 points, is averaging 20.8 ppg. On Jan. 26 vs. #12 NSU, Evans set career-bests with 42 points, 15 field goals, seven three pointers, and 24 attempted field goals. He followed up with 29 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while hitting the game-winning shot in a 70-67 victory over MSUM. It was Evans's second double double of his career with USF.  Earlier, he had 32 points and five threes (seven attempts) against St. Cloud State. In the 88-82 loss, he scored 11 points in the final 55 seconds of the game.  In a 91-66 win over UMD on Saturday, Dec. 9, he had 26 points with six rebounds in 30 minutes. In a 50-minute period between the second half of SCSU and first 30 minutes against UMD, he scored 53 points or over a point a minute. He had 31 points, including a career-best 27 points in the second half, to help USF rally to a 90-78 victory over Upper Iowa on Dec. 2. In a 91-85 overtime win over SMSU Nov. 25, Evans had 16 points and had the game-tying basket with 2.8 seconds to play. At the MIAA-NSIC Classic on Nov. 10-11, Evans tallied 28 points and nine rebounds in the 94-89 OT win against Emporia State on Nov. 10. He bettered his performance on the second day, lighting it up for a career-best 31 points and grabbing 12 rebounds as USF defeated Fort Hays State, 96-92 in overtime.  As a result of those performances, he earned NSIC Men's Basketball Player of the Week honors.  Evans has 22 double digit scoring games (28, 31, 13, 14, 16, 14, 31, 32, 26, 14, 22, 28, 10, 21, 13, 14, 24, 22, 42, 29, 19, 23) including 13 games over 20 points and four over 30.  In the last 19 games, he has 11 games of 20 points or more, including six of 25 or more.

Guebert moves up to 11th all-time in scoring; 2nd in made 3s
Through 26 games, Drew Guebert, a junior from Apple Valley, Minn., is fifth in the NSIC at 19.8 points per game. Guebert, who is 26th in DII with 515 total points, has 12 games of 20 points or more, including three times (36, 32, 31) scoring over 30 points. Guebert has become the 33rd player in school history to top 1,000 career points. With 51 points on Feb. 2-3, Guebert increased his career scoring total to 1,323 which tied him for 11th (Joel Running, 1985-88, 1,323 points) on the USF career scoring chart. He has 195 made three pointers in his career, which ranks second all-time at USF.  This season, Guebert has been named NSIC  Player of the Week a program-best three times (Nov. 27, Jan. 8, Feb. 5). He has 63 double digit scoring games with 24,  20-point games. This season, he has scored double digits in 23 times. He set a career-best with 36 points and 10 rebounds, which helped USF defeat SMSU, 91-85 in overtime on Nov. 25. Guebert, who is averaging 19.8 ppg and  5.8 rebounds per game, set a career-best with seven threes (12 attempts)  as he scored 31 points in a  72-70 loss at Winona State.

Breaking Down USF

North Games -- In games  against North opponents this year, USF finished 5-3. The Cougars owned a 76.2-to-71.6 ppg edge and a 36.8-to-32.5 rebounds margin. USF has been outshot 44.8 percent to 43.7 percent from the field. The Cougars have a 38.4-to-31.9 advantage in three pointers and have recorded five fewer steals (40-to-45) to their opponents with the a 32-28 lead in blocked shots. Guard Trevon Evans leads the way with 23.9 ppg and 4.2 rebounds against North foes. Drew Guebert is averaging 17.6 ppg.

South Games -- the Cougars stand 7-5 against South opponents,  including 4-1 and 3-4 on the road. USF has been led by the duo of Drew Guebert with 20.3 points and 6.8 rebounds and Trevon Evans with 19.0 points and 4.2 rebounds. USF has averaged 76.7 and given up 76.9 ppg with a 45.9 percent to 45.9 percent shooting advantage from the field. However, opponents have a 41.0-to-32.6 percent edge in three point field goals, including an 8.3-to-6.4 advantage in made treys. The Cougars own a 37.3-to-33.7 rebound edge per game. USF owns a commanding 48-to-25 edge in blocks and 65-54 margin in steals but have committed more turnovers (11.3-to-10.8 per game).

Home Games -- In going 10-2 at home, USF has enjoyed an 79.8-to-66.1 ppg advantage. The Cougars have hit 45.2 percent from the floor while opponents have been held to 38.8 percent. In 12 games, USF has a 35.1-to-32.4 edge in three-point shots, making 7.3-to-7.0 for foes. The Cougars' board work has been impressive with a margin of 42.7-to-32.6 per game. The Cougars have committed fewer turnovers (11.4) than opponents (11.7) with more steals (67-to-57), blocks (60-to-32) and assists (178-to-144).

Road Games - On the road USF is 6-7, including 5-6 in league play, and have been outscored, 79.9-to-78.0 ppg. The Cougars hold a 34.5-to-32.1 rebound edge but have been outshot from the floor, 49.0-to-47.0 percent, as well as 44.7-to-39.2 percent from three point range. Opponents have a 8.7-to-7.7 edge in made threes while USF holds the edge in blocks, 37-to-32. Opponents have more assists, 164-to-133 and fewer turnovers (11.3-to-11.9 ).  Trevon Evans leads the way in scoring at 24.5 ppg while Drew Guebert has added 18.1 ppg.

Games Won - USF averages 83.8 and allows 69.2 points per game in games they have won.  The Cougars have hit 48.4 percent from the floor,  while allowing 40.9. From the three-point line, USF owns a 37.7-to-35.2 percent shooting edge over foes.  On the boards, the Cougars have a 41.2-to-30.6 edge. Drew Guebert has led the way with 20.8 ppg while Trevon Evans adds 20.2 ppg and team-best 6.1 rpg.