SIOUX FALLS – After a 2-1 start, the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team hits the road to play a pair of nonconference opponents at the Second Annual Dacotah Bank Classic, hosted by Northern State, on Nov. 22-23  

The Cougars, directed by the all-time wins leader Chris Johnson (197 wins at USF), will play Chadron State at 5:30 pm on Friday, Nov. 22 and Colorado Pueblo at 3:30 pm on Saturday, Nov. 23 at the Barnett Center at Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D.

USF is 2-1 after defeating Dakota State in nonconference action at the Stewart Center. It was USF's 10^th straight win in home openers. Earlier USF was 1-1 at the Central Region Challenge in Kansas City. USF defeated Lincoln University, 64-63, as Austin Slater had a career-high 22 points on Nov. 8. They also took a 62-55 loss to Pittsburgh State on Nov. 9 at the Central Region Challenge.
 
Breaking down USF through three games
 
After recording his third straight double double with a career-high 26 points and 16 rebounds,  Teathloach Pal, a junior forward from Fridley, Minn., is now averaging 17 points (11^th in the NSIC) and an NSIC-leading 15.3 rebounds on the season.

Through three games, Pal has scored 51 points (13, 12, 26) and grabbed 46 rebounds (13, 17, 16) while hitting .611 from the floor on 22-of-36 shooting. Pal has made 7-of-11 from the free throw line for 63.6 percent. He has 16 offensive boards in three games with six assists, three turnovers and two steals. Pal had a career-high 17 boards against Pitt State and has double doubles in three straight games this season with eight in his career. Dating to the final game of 2018-19, a 79-76 loss to Northern State in the NSIC Sanford Health Tournament Quarterfinals, he has four straight double doubles. Against NSU he had 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Junior forward Austin Slater who is averaging 13.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. He has reached double digits twice (22, 14) and is hitting 7-of-11 shots from the field for 63.6 percent while hitting 20-of-24 free for 83.3 percent. He scored a career-high 22 points to lead USF to a 64-63 win against Lincoln and then had a team-high 14 points in a 62-55 loss to Pittsburg State.

Sophomore guard Chase Grinde is also reaching double digits for USF with 9.3 points per game while adding 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He had a season-high 12 points against Pittsburg State and has scored eight against Lincoln and DSU. Also for USF, junior William Lybaek had a career-high 15 points with a career-high three triples against DSU.
 
As a team, USF is averaging 63.7 points and allowing 58.7 per game. The Cougars own a 38.3-to-30.3 rebound edge and have 191 total points with 80-to-75 first half edge and 111-to-101 margin in the second half. To this point, USF is shooting 42.6 percent (69-of-162) from the field and 15-of-62 from three-point range for 24.7 percent. They have made 69.1 percent mark on 38-of-55 free throw conversions. Defensively, they have held opponents to 37.5 percent (60-of-160) from the field and 32.9 percent from three on 23-of-70 shooting.

Breaking down the opponents – Chadron State
CSC, which has opened the season 0-3, is led by head coach Houston Reed who will begin his fourth season in Chadron after serving as head men's basketball coach for the previous 10 years at Otero Junior College in La Junta, Colorado. CSC has been led by senior Brian Rodriquez-Flores with 22.3 ppg and has made 10 threes in 16 attempts. Jacob Jefferson, a 6-7 sophomore forward, is adding 13.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while senior guard Colby Jackson has supplied 10.0 points per game. They are averaging 70.0 points and giving up 76.0 points per game.CSC is hitting 46.6 percent from the field and 37.1 from three-point range while averaging 33.1 rebounds per contest. They have an 87-79 loss in overtime to Nebraska-Kearney, a 67-66 setback to Texas A&M Kingsville and a 75-65 loss to Texas A&M International.

Inside look at Colorado-Pueblo
CSU, directed by head coach Matt Hammer is 2-0 after a 92-69 win against Cameron and a 69-64 decision against MSU-Texas. Hammer comes to the Pack after five seasons as the Head Men's Basketball Coach at Sheridan College where he collected an overall record of 118-43 (.733). He has a connection to South Dakota as he starred at NSU where he was also a graduate assistant. Hammer played for Coach Don Meyer at Northern State and while at NSU, he was a member of four consecutive 20-win teams. He helped guide the Wolves to the 2002 regular season NSIC Championship, and two NSIC Tournament Championships (2004 and 2005). In 2005 as a junior, Hammer became the second ever member of the NSIC to be named the regular season player of the year and NSIC Tournament MVP in the same season. He left Northern State ranked 13th on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,686 points. Hammer was named Mr. Basketball in 2002 while at Elkton High School in South Dakota. CSU has been led by Jaeden Bowles with 16.5 ppg and has made eight threes in 14 attempts. Tyson Gilbert is adding 13.5 points and hit all five of his three point shots. Donovan Oldham has supplied 13.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. They are averaging 80.0 points and giving up 66.5 points per game. CSU is hitting 48.5 percent from the field and 52.3 from three-point range while averaging 33.5 rebounds per contest.

Teathloach Pal named  NSIC Men's Player of the Week for the first time
 Junior forward Teathloach Pal, who set a career-highs with 26 points and also grabbed 16 rebounds in a 72-51 win over Dakota State Saturday, Nov. 16, was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week, according to an announcement today (Tuesday, Nov. 19) by the league office. Pal of Fridley, Minn., earned his first-ever NSIC Men's Player of the Week honor after a dominating performance against Dakota State.  In 31:33 on the floor, Pal, who registered his third straight double double and now has eight in his career, was 12-of-16 from the field and made 2-of-3 free throws as he established a career-best point total. He also had 16 rebounds as he had eight offensive boards while also dishing three assists.  

Cougars picked to finish fourth in the NSIC South
USF has been picked to finish fourth in the South Division and tied for 10th overall in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, according to the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll released earlier this fall.15. USF, The Cougars officially opened practice on Oct. 15 and returned three starters & seven letter winners from a team that was 19-11 overall and 13-9 in league play as they advanced to the NSIC Quarterfinals for a fourth straight year.

Minnesota State was selected by the league coaches as the preseason favorites in the NSIC for the 2019-20 season. The Mavericks received 214 points with seven first place votes and six points ahead of Augustana with 208 points and six first place votes. Minnesota Duluth was third with 196 points and three first place votes. USF was 10th overall, and tied with Wayne State for 10th with 96 points. In the South Division, USF was fourth with 25 points. They sit behind favorite MSU, 47 points, five first place votes; Augustana, 44 points, three first place votes and Winona State with 37 points.

USF cruises to 72-51 win over Dakota State in home opener
Teathloach Pal set a career-high with 26 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (2-1) to a 72-51 nonconference win over Dakota State in the home season opener on Saturday (Nov. 16) at the Stewart Center. After leading just 25-24 at the halftime break, the Cougars shot a blistering 63.6 percent in the second half on 21-of-33 shooting to build a 23-point lead and cruise to the victory. In 31:33 on the floor, Pal, who registered his third straight double double and now has eight in his career, was 12-of-16 from the field and made 2-of-3 free throws as he established a career-best point total. He just missed tying his career high of 17 rebounds as he had eight offensive boards while also dishing three assists. Pal, a junior forward from Fridley, Minn., is now averaging 17 points and 15.3 rebounds on the season. William Lybaek also had a career-night with 15 points as he knocked down 6-of-9 field goals and made 3-of-5 three-pointers. The six field goals, nine attempts and the trio of treys also set career-bests for the redshirt junior from Trondheim, Norway. USF also had eight points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals from sophomore Chase Grinde, who continues to fill up the stat sheet. For the game, USF hit 31-of-63 shots for 49.2 percent and knocked in a season high 7-of-24 from three-point range for 29.2 percent. USF, which held a significant 41-22 rebound edge, made 3-of-7 free throws, four shots and had 18 assists on the 31 made baskets.

Recap – USF goes 1-1 at Central Region Challenge in KC –
 
Cougars edge Lincoln, 64-64: With a career-high 22 points from Austin Slater and Teathloach Pal's sixth career double (13 points, 13 rebounds), the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team successfully opened the season with a dramatic 64-63 come-from-behind win over Lincoln University in nonconference play at the Central Region Challenge at the Municipal Auditorium. The Cougars trailed by 10 points in the first half (16-6, 9:54, 1^st half), but rallied to within a point at halftime (29-28) and then outscored LU, 36-34, in the second half to record the win. USF, which led 62-57 with 1:50 to play, received a pair of free throws from Slater with under five seconds to play to ice the game (64-60). Slater, a junior forward who made a career-best 16-of-20 free throws, hit 3-of-5 field goals and grabbed eight rebounds with three assists and a steal in 29 minutes. In his 32 minutes on the floor, junior forward Teathloach Pal had 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor and 5-of-6 at the foul line while grabbing 13 rebounds for his fifth career double. In addition, Pal had two assists, two blocks and a steal. Sophomore guard Chase Grinde added eight points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals before fouling out. Freshman guard Jack Thompson, who gave USF its first second half lead with a three-ball, added eight points on 3-of-3 shooting from the floor. Thompson knocked down both of his three-point field goals. USF hit 18-of-48 field goals for 37.5 percent but converted 10-of-24 in the second half for 41.7 percent. The Cougars struggled from three-point range on 4-of-21 shooting for 19 percent. However, the Cougars had a solid performance at the foul line by hitting 24-of-31 for 77.4 percent. One of the nation's top rebounding units a year ago, USF outboarded Lincoln, 38-37. While USF committed 14 turnovers, they forced 13 by Lincoln and held the Blue Tigers to 32.1 percent shooting (18-of-56) from the floor. LU was just 8-of-29 for 27.6 percent in the second half when USF's defense came through. At the three-point line, LU was 8-of-27 for 29.6 percent and 19-of-24 at the foul line for 79.2 percent.
 
Coo fall to Pitt State, 62-55: Despite Teathloach Pal's seventh career double double  (12 points, 17 rebounds), USF dropped a 62-55 nonconference decision to Pittsburg State (1-1) at the Central Region Challenge at Municipal Auditorium. Pal scored 12 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds. A junior forward, Pal has opened the 2019-20 season with back-to-back double doubles and has seven in his career. USF was led in scoring for a second straight night by junior forward Austin Slater, who had 14 points and five rebounds before fouling out. He hit 4-of-6 field goals and 2-of-3 from three-point range. Sophomore guard Chase Grinde supplied 12 points and five rebounds while senior Devin Green had 10 points and three rebounds. For the second straight night, USF had a rebounding advantage as they had 36 boards to 32 for Pitt State. USF made 20-of-51 field goals for 39.2 percent but converted just 4-of-17 shots from three-point range for 23.5 percent. That proved to be a big difference as Pitt State knocked in 10-of-23 for 43.5 percent from three-point range. In that three-point breakdown, they were 7-of-15 for 47 percent in the second half.  Overall PSU was 20-of-52 for 38.5 percent and 12-of-17 at the foul line. The Cougars, which trailed by eight points with 8:22 to play, made 11-of-17 free throws for 64.7 percent.USF held a 27-22 lead at halftime and led by as many as 13 points (20-7, 7:15; 22-9, 6:38, 1^st half) in the opening half. However, Pitt State outscored USF, 40-28 in the second half to grab a 62-55 win in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. PSU opened the second half on fire and erased USF's five-point lead. They hit three-straight three pointers for a 39-37 lead with 11:32 to play. Then, the Gorillas strung together an 8-2 run for a 45-37 lead at the 8:22 mark.  After trailing PSU 53-45 with 5:31 to play, the Cougars made a run and cut the deficit to 53-51 with three minutes left after Grinde converted two foul shots as part of a 6-0 run. At the 1:51 mark, Troy Houghton, who had five points, converted a layup as USF trailed just 54-53. But PSU closed on an 8-2 run, as they made six free throws to stop USF's rally.

USF directed by all-time wins leader HC Chris Johnson
University of Sioux Falls head men's basketball coach Chris Johnson, who was named the school's 22nd head coach in 2008 begins his 12th season at the helm of the program. Since taking over, Johnson has guided the Cougars to five 20-win seasons, three post-season appearances, two conference tournament championships and one regular season conference crown. Just twice in his run have the Cougars finished below .500. In fact, he has led the team to 15 wins 10 times and recorded five 20-win seasons with the 25-10 campaign in 2009-10 the best finish. At the NCAA DII level, USF's mark of 20-10 in 2017-18 is a program-best. The 2017-18 team also finished 14-8 (5th overall) in league play and that is also the top mark for league wins. A year ago, he directed USF to a 19-11 mark (13-9 in the NSIC) and USF has 39 wins in past two seasons. After a 2-1 start this year, he is 197-144 (.577) at USF. The program's career wins leader, he passed Shane Murphy (154, 2001-08) two years ago. Johnson, who is 213-159 (.572) overall, has compiled a 109-42 mark at home and a 56-80 road record with a 15-13 mark on a neutral floor. In NSIC play, he has a 70-84 record, including a 56-30 mark in home league games.