MANKATO, Minn. – Led by the All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tandem of Trevon Evans and Drew Guebert, the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (11-4, 6-3 NSIC) rolled to a third straight victory with a dominating 74-46 win over NSIC South Division Leader Minnesota State (11-4, 7-2 NSIC) at the Taylor Center on Friday night.

With the victory, USF picked up its 11^th win overall and sixth in nine games in league play. The Cougars remained in fourth place in the NSIC South but just a game out of first place where MSU is tied at 7-2 with Wayne State and Augustana. It is the third straight game in which USF has defeated a team (Wayne State, Augustana, MSU) either tied or leading the NSIC South.

Evans, who was named the NSIC South Division Player of the Week on Monday, scored a game-high 27 points with five rebounds, four assists, a block, steal and just one turnover in 35 minutes of action. Evans, a native of Wichita, Kan., has 19 straight double-digit scoring games and 41 in his career. He registered his 26^th game of 20 points or more in his career and now has 957 career points.  
 
In the victory over MSU, Evans had seven field goals, two three-pointers and made 11-of-12 from the foul line with his second straight game of 27 points or more.
 
Guebert, who had 18 points and seven rebounds with two assists, moved into fourth place on USF's all-time scoring list at 1,708 points, Guebert, a senior from Apple Valley, Minn., became just the fourth player ever at USF to break 1,700 career points and moved into 16^th on the NSIC's all-time scoring chart (1,180 points, NSIC games only). He now has 81 double-digit scoring games in his career and increased his all-time USF three-point record to 238.  Against the Mavericks, Guebert made 7-of-14 shots from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range.
 
After both teams struggled to score in the opening minutes, the Cougars took a 12-9 lead at the 10-minute mark and then had an 18-to-11 run to close the first half for a 30-20 advantage. USF opened the second half on a 9-0 run and proceeded to outscore MSU, 44-26, in the second half. As a result, USF defeated MSU for the first time in seven games at the Taylor Center.

USF Head Coach Chris Johnson called the performance impressive and memorable.

"I felt we really played well tonight. It is one of the best wins we have had this year and overall in DII," said Johnson, who has 202 career wins. "Our defense really was focused and stayed after MSU all night. Another factor is that we didn't get into foul trouble, particularly Milan (Sulic), who only played a few minutes in the earlier game we lost in overtime," added Johnson, who squad dropped an 87-84 overtime decision to MSU at the Stewart Center on Dec. 8. "It was a big win but now we have to try and build on the momentum," he said.

For the 15 straight game, USF, which leads the NSIC in rebounding, had a decided advantage on the boards over its opponent. The Cougars had a 54-40 margin over the Mavericks, including a 13-to-10 edge on the offensive glass.

The Cougars, which didn't trail after MSU led 13-12 in the first half, held a 30-to-12 edge of points in the paint and a 14-to-9 margin in points over turnovers.

MSU, which shot just 22.6 percent from the field on 14-of-62 shooting, was led by Quincy Anderson with nine points and five rebounds while Cameron Kirksey had eight points and six rebounds. MSU made just 6-of-33 shots from three-point range for 18.2 percent was 12-of-18 from the foul line.

Game Breakdown ---
Both teams struggled early as the Cougars had a lay-up from Milan Surlic, who had eight points and six rebounds on the night, for a 3-2 lead. After MSU took a 7-5 lead, USF had a three from Aaron Rothermund and a lay-up from Troy Houghton for a 12-9 lead at the 10:25 mark. On this night, both teams had troubles with the other side's defense. And the first half would be a reflection of that.

MSU took their last lead of the game at 13-12 with 8:29 to play. Austin Slater, who had a game-high 10 rebounds, had the lead-changing basket which spurred a 9-0 run as the Cougars took a 21-13 lead with 4:16 to play in the half. After Anderson hammered home a three to draw MSU within six (24-18, 3:34, 1^st), USF had the answer with a 6-2 run to end the half with a 30-20 advantage. USF, which was led by 13 points from Evans, hit 41.4 percent from the field on 12-of-29 shooting. Kirksey had eight points to lead MSU, which hit just 23.3 percent on 7-of-30 field goal shooting.

In the opening 1:35 of the second half, USF took control of the game on the strength of some long-distance shooting. USF had two threes from Surlic and another from Guebert for a 39-20 lead with 18:25 to play. Then, MSU made a run at USF with a 10-2 spurt to close within 41-30 after a lay-up by Tre Baumgartner with 13:45 left in the game.  But MSU couldn't draw any closer as the Cougars had a 9-2 run, including two baskets by Chase Grinde and a three from Guebert, for a 50-33 lead at the 10:20 mark.

After that, USF continued to build on their lead as the Mavericks could only draw within 15 points at 53-38 with 8:44 to play. Another three from Guebert helped USF to a 62-38 advantage after a 9-0 run at the 6:46 mark. USF increased the lead to a game-high 29 points at 74-45 when true freshman Troy Houghton, who had a career-high six points and four free throws, converted a lay-up with 2:24 left to play.

On Saturday, the Cougars will have another NSIC matchup as they travel to play Concordia-St. Paul at 5:30 p.m. at the Gangelhoff Center.