SIOUX FALLS – Senior guard Trevon Evans scored a season-best 33 points and hit two clutch free throws with four seconds to left to rally the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (10-4, 5-3 NSIC) past city rival Augustana (10-4, 6-2 NSIC), 77-73, before 1,738 in a packed Stewart Center on Saturday night.

"This just feels great," said Evans, who hit 11-of-22 field goals and made 8-of-11 free throws while grabbing six rebounds and recording two steals in leading USF to their second straight win. "We really wanted this one," he said.

With the victory, the Cougars remained in fourth place in a bunched up NSIC South Division. Minnesota State leads the South at 7-1 while Augustana and Wayne State are tied for second place at 6-2 with the Cougars at 5-3. USF defeated Augustana for a third straight time and ended the seven-game winning streak by the Vikings. In addition, the USF win drew the rivalry into a 36-36 tie in 72 meetings all-time. Interestingly, over the past six meetings between the rivals, four games have been decided by five points or fewer and one other went to overtime (70-61 overtime win by USF at the Stewart Center on 12/31/17).

"Certainly this was an important win for us even if it is early in the season," said USF Head Coach Chris Johnson, whose team registered its fourth win in five meetings with their city rivals. "We really got after it on the defensive end. Trevon (Evans) had a big game but so did so many others. For the second straight night, we got after it at both ends. Our hustle plays were great and we had guys step in and come up big all night," said Johnson.

Augustana jumped to a 13-6 lead in the first half before USF rallied to take a 42-40 lead to halftime. In the second half, Evans, who hit two free throws with 7.3 seconds left to ice the game, scored 18 of his 33 points and did not commit a turnover. He was 7-of-9 at the foul stripe.

Evans, who reached double digits in points for his 18^th straight game and 40^th time of his career, increased his career scoring total to 929 in about a season and half at USF. Evans now has 25, 20-point or better games and has seven career games of 30 points or more. He was joined in double-digits for a  second straight night by senior Drew Guebert, who had 16 points, four rebounds and a blocked shot. Guebert, who increased his career-point total to 1,690, reached double digits in points for the 80^th time in his career. However, Guebert was hampered by foul trouble and fouled out in the second half after playing just 22 minutes.

Senior forward Justin Taylor was among the players to help fill in and provide quality minutes. He had nine points, four rebounds and two blocks.  Senior Aaron Rothermund added six points and six rebounds while sophomore forward Austin Slater provided six points, four rebounds and a block in 21 minutes.

USF shot 44.8 percent from the floor on 26-of-58 shooting. However, USF was just 6-of-26 from three-point range. The Cougars consistently went at the Vikings and drew fouls with a 19-to-10 edge in made free throws a key factor in their win. The Vikings, which had 25 points from sophomore Matt Cartwright, made just 26-of-67 field goals for 38.8 percent as USF defense caused them issues. Still, they made 11-of-29 from three-point range for 37.9 percent.

USF's prowess on the boards continued against AU. For the 14^th straight game, USF won the rebound battle with a 41-35 margin against the Vikings. USF, the league's top rebounding team, now has had at least five more rebounds in every game than their opponents.

"I was pleased with how hard we worked on the boards," said Johnson, whose team will have a big test next Friday (Jan. 11) against South leader Minnesota State. Then, USF heads Concordia St. Paul on Saturday, Jan. 12.

GAME BREAKDOWN –
After Guebert opened the scoring with a lay-up, the Vikings scored seven straight and opened up a 13-6 advantage (16:04) after a three-pointer from Dylan LeBrun, who finished with 16 points and nine rebounds.

The Cougars responded with a 14-to-4 run as Milan Surlic and Guebert knocked down treys to help push USF into a 20-17 lead with 10:54 to play.  Consecutive jump shots from Taylor helped USF to a 26-21 advantage at the 7:50 mark. But as would be the case all night, the team with the lead always felt the pressure from the trailing squad.

Consecutive threes from Cartwright helped the Vikings to a 30-29 lead (6:22).  USF responded with an 8-0 run as a lay-up from Rothermund gave USF a 37-30 advantage with 3:17 left in the first half.

LeBrun and Evans traded threes before a lay-up from Teathloach Pal gave USF a 42-37 lead with 17 seconds left before halftime. But as was the trend on this night, AU came up with a three as Cartwright knocked it down with seconds to go and USF's lead was just 42-40 at the break. In that opening half, USF had the advantage inside with an 18-8 points in the pain edge and a 15-4 margin in bench points. USF hit 16-of-27 field goals for 59.3 percent in the first half and made four treys and six free throws while owning a 19-13 rebound edge. Evans led USF with 15 points. The Vikings hit just 42.9 percent from the field (15-of-35) but hit 8-of-15 from distance for 53.3 percent to stay close. Cartwright led AU with 14 points.

The Cougars opened quickly in the second half with a tip-in by Guebert and a pair of free throws from Evans giving them a 46-40 lead at the 19:15 mark.

Over the next five plus minutes, the Vikings took off on a 10-3 run to take a 50-49 lead after Trevor Hanson hammered home a three-pointer (13:39). Over the next seven minutes, the team traded leads with three tie scores.

Tied at 61, USF had a 8-1 run, keyed by four points from Evans, to open up a 69-62 lead with 5:17 to go. The Vikings again rallied as a foul shot from Hanson cut USF's lead to 69-68 with 1:36 to play. However, Evans responded with a driving lay-up and a pair of foul shots for a 73-68 advantage with 33 seconds to play. After USF had a defensive stop, Evans missed a pair of fee throws and LeBrun knocked in a three with 16 seconds to play to draw the Vikings within 73-71.

USF's Milan Sulic promptly hit a pair of foul shots with 11 seconds left for a 75-71 lead. After AU's A.J. Plitzuweit had a driving lay-up, Evans stepped up and iced the game with two straight foul shots for a 77-73 lead as the Cougars again prevailed against their city rivals.