SIOUX FALLS – All-NSIC forward Drew Guebert registered a double of 22 points and 12 rebounds but the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (20-10) had their season end in a 67-56 loss to St. Cloud State (23-7) in the quarterfinals of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/Sanford Health Tournament on Saturday at the Sanford Pentagon before 906 in attendance.

SCSU, which was the No. 2 seed in the NSIC North, advances to play No. 1 South seed Southwest Minnesota State on Monday. The Cougars had their best season at the NCAA DII level end at 20-10. The Cougars, which was 1-1 in the NSIC Tourney for the third straight season, fell to 2-12 all-time to the Huskies.

"We played extremely hard but couldn't find consistent offense tonight," said USF Head Coach Chris Johnson. "I was pleased with our effort but we couldn't get it done tonight. I want to say thank you to our two seniors, Tom Aase and Zach Wessels, who have meant so much to this program. They epitomize the best in student-athletes. They are the salt of the earth guys, who work for everything they have received. They are two special people," he said.

For the second time in school history (Stacy Kooistra, Gary Arrington, 1992-93, 1,240 points), the Cougars had a pair of players combine for more than 1,200 points (1,207) as All-NSIC first team guard and NSIC Newcomer of the Year Trevon Evans finished the season with 611 points, which ranks 12th all-time in school history, and Guebert had 596 points, tied for 15th all-time with Nathan Unruh (1995-96). On the night Evans provided 13 points, four assists and two steals. With three triples, he and Guebert both ended at 67 for the season, a total that ranked fifth for a season in school history.

In his final game as USF player, Zach Wessels contributed nine points, three rebounds and an assist. Meanwhile Tom Aase, who like Wessels hails from Austin, Minn., grabbed three rebounds.

"I am heartbroken for our team, who battled all season and all night. Sometimes you just don't have it going for you," said Johnson. "It was a real joy to coaching this team. They were a lot of fun. And, I want to thank my coaching staff for their hard work and effort all season and the USF alumni, supports and students for coming out last Wednesday and again tonight," he said.

On the night, Guebert hit 8-of-23 shots and was 6-of-6 from the foul line for his 22 points while also adding the 12 rebounds, including three on the offensive end. For Guebert, he surpassed 1,400 (1,404) points in his career, which ranks 11th all-time. Also stepping up for USF was redshirt freshman Teathloach Pal with five points and nine rebounds.

SCSU, which was led by Gage Davis with 18 points and 11 rebounds, led from start to finish. The Huskies opened up a 13-4 advantage and led 35-25 at halftime. The Cougars, which cut the lead to eight points twice in the second half, were outscored 32-to-31 in the final 20 minutes as they fell, 67-56.

The Cougars were hit hurt by shooting, hitting just 21-of-63 from the field for 33.3 percent. USF, which missed all 10 of its three-pointers in the opening half, ended up 3-of-18 from three point range for 16.7 percent. USF, which had a 45-to-31 rebound advantage, committed 13 turnovers and had just eight assists. SCSU, which also had 13 points on the bench from Trevon Marshall and 11 from Brindley Theisen, shot 49.1 percent (26-of-53) from the field and 6-of-15 for 40 percent from three point range. The Huskies, which had seven blocks, were hurt at the foul line as they made just 9-of-20 shots for 45 percent.

GAME BREAKDOWN –
The Cougars had a tough start, hitting just 2-of-9 shots to open the game and trailed 13-4 with just over 15 minutes to play. It also hurt that Guebert had a pair of early fouls and had to leave the game. When he re-entered the game three minutes later, he quickly hit three straight baskets to keep the Cougars close at 19-10. With 9:47 to play, Wessels converted a pair of free throws as USF trailed, 22-14.  Cougars, who hit just seven of its first 25 shots to open the game, stayed within 25-17 with 6:15 to play after two more free throws from Wessels.

SCSU responded with a 7-0 run, including a three from Jon Averkamp, for a 32-17 lead (3:59).  Guebert supplied six straight points as the Cougars draw within 32-23 with two minutes to play. Wessels added a jumper that hit every part of the rim to cut the lead to 35-25 with 30 seconds to play, which was the score at the halftime break.

In the second half, USF pulled within eight before Davis hit a three for a 44-31 lead at the 15:50 mark of the second half.  Then, Guebert made a pair of free throws as the Cougars trailed 44-33.

Davis continued to come up huge for the Huskies as his drive and score gave SCSU a 48-33 lead at the 13:30 mark. Devin Green came off the bench to provide a lift for the Cougars as his jumper was followed by a three from Evans to pull the Cougars within 48-38 (12:02).

Later, USF drew within 55-46 on another Evans's three. After Justin Taylor grabbed a rebound and slammed it home and Austin Slater made a free throw, the Cougars trailed just 57-49 with 5:03 left on the clock. But that was as close as the Cougars would get as Theisen knocked home a three at the 3:13 mark and the lead grew to 13 (64-51). After that USF cut the score to 11 twice but ran out of time as their most successful season at the NCAA DII level ended.