SIOUX FALLS --  After successfully maneuvering to a NSIC-opening win at home, the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (5-2, 1-0 NSIC) will hit the road for a pair of league games in Minnesota. The Cougars start with Concordia St. Paul (2-2, 0-0 NSIC) on Friday, Dec. 6 at 7:30 pm at the Gangelhoff Center. Then, USF will travel to the Taylor Center to meet up with South Division favorite Minnesota State on Saturday, Dec. 7 in Mankato, Minn.

How to follow USF MBB
Follow USF Men's Basketball on twitter at @USFCooBBall. All USF's home games and NSIC contests are streamed for free through Stretch Internet at usfcougars.com/watch. Veteran announcer Tom Frederick will provide play-by-play for both the nonconference games on Stretch Internet and conference games at KWSN.com. Live stats for home games are available at www.sidearmstats.com/mbball.

Johnson records 200th career win at USF
USF all-time wins leader Chris Johnson (200 wins at USF and 216 overall), picked up his 200th career win at USF be defeating SMSU, 74-56, in USF's home NSIC opener. The milestone for Johnson came in his 375 career coaching game. In his career, he has 216 total victories. In the win, sophomore guard Chase Grinde had a season-high19 points with seven rebounds while junior Will Lybaek added 14 and both Troy Houghton and Jack Thompson set career-highs with 10 points each.

Coo stand 15-5 in November of past three years
This will be USF's first game in December after another successful November. USF was 5-2 in November this year and 15-5 over the past three seasons. Over the past two years, USF is 7-6 in December including 3-3 a year ago.

USF finishes nonconference with 5-2 mark
In wrapping up the nonconference season, USF dropped a 94-69 decision to Minnesota Crookston as Harrison Cleary had 40 points. The loss dropped USF to 51-5 in nonconference game with Johnson. The loss to UMC ended USF's three game winning streak but USF has won four of five. In the setback to UMC, senior captain Devin Green had a career high in points with 16 and rebounds with seven. Jaxon Simons also had double digits with his career best of 11 points. Logan Dreier also had a career-high with nine points. 

With 16 points and 13 rebounds from Austin Slater, the Cougars turned back Chadron State, 62-59, in the first game at the Dacotah Bank Classic. In game two, junior guard William Lybaek had 15 points, including a trio of threes, and Teathloach Pal added 14 points and eight rebounds as USF captured its third straight victory with a 77-70 decision over CSU-Pueblo, also at the Dacotah Bank Classic.

In winning their 10th straight home opener, the Cougars handed Dakota State a 72-51 nonconference setback on Nov. 16 at the Stewart Center.  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.

Inside look at CSP and MSU
 CSP had a coaching change in mid-November as assistant coach Eric Johnson was moved into as interim head coach role after the departure of Joey James who took a position with Florida Tech. Johnson has directed CSP to a pair of nonconference wins as CSP stands 2-2. The match up with USF on Friday will be the NSIC opener for the Golden Bears, which is 10th in the NSIC in scoring at 73.5 ppg but fourth in rebounding at 42.3 ppg. They are seventh in the NSIC in defensive scoring at 68.3 ppg. Jordin Coblin, who leads CSC in scoring at 16.3 points per game, did not play in CSP's most recent win of 75-61 over Northland but had 28 points against North Central in a win. Noah Kannegiesser is averaging 14.3 and forward Cody Carlson supplies 12.3 ppg and 6.8 rpg.

Minnesota State, which was the favorite to win the NSIC, has opened slow with a 2-4 mark. Directed by veteran head coach Matt Margenthaler, the Mavs will also open the NSIC at home with SMSU on Friday night and then face the Cougars on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The Mavericks rank fifth in the NSIC in scoring at 81.8 points per game but sit 14th in defense with 74.2 points per game. However, they are second in rebounding at 42.5 per game and seventh in field goal shooting at 45.9. They averaged 9.0 threes per game, which is seventh. Cameron Kirksey leads the way with 17.5 points while grabbing 4.3 rebounds per game. Guard Corvon Seales is contributing 11.5 ppg and guard Kevin Krieger is another veteran back with 9.8 ppg. Sophomore forward Kelby Kramer is added 10 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

USF leads CSP, 17-6, all-time in series
Against the Golden Bears, USF has a 17-6 overall mark with six straight wins. The last USF loss to CSP was a 78-63 decision in St. Paul on Feb. 20, 2016. In a season sweep a year ago, USF won game two as Trevon Evans scored 29 points and led a hot-shooting University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team to dominating 95-64 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory over Concordia-St. Paul (7-9, 2-8 NSIC) at the Gangelhoff Center on Jan. 12, 2019. Evans was one of four USF players with double-digit points. Senior forward Drew Guebert had 14 points, two rebounds, two assists and two blocks while redshirt freshman Chase Grinde had 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Junior guard Milan Surlic added 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists and did not commit a turnover in 24 minutes. USF opened on a 35-9 run and led 46-34 at halftime.  The Cougars, which led by as many as 33 points (95-62, 2nd half), outscored the Golden Bears, 49-32, in the second half for a 31-point victory which was the second highest margin this season. Led by Evans, the Cougars made 37-of-71 field goals for 52.1 percent as they shot over 50 percent for the fifth time this season. USF reached double-digits in made three-pointers as they hit 16-of-31 for 51.6 percent for the fourth occasion this year. USF's 16 treys was the second-best total of the season (17-34 vs Emporia State, Nov. 10).   USF had nine points and eight rebounds with a blocked shot from Teathloach Pal, who knocked in 4-of-6 shots from the field.  The Golden Bears, which was led in scoring by Noah Kannegiesser with 15 points and Cody Carlson with 14 points, made 10-of-24 shots from three-point range.

 In the earlier game against the Golden Bears on Dec. 7, Drew Guebert had 28 and seven rebounds, Trevon Evans added 23 points and six rebounds while Justin Taylor had career-bests of 16 points and 15 rebounds in a 91-81 win at the Stewart Center.

 Trevon Evans led USF with 35 points and Pal Teathloach added 10 points on 62.5 percent shooting in a 79-68 home victory on Feb. 16, 2018.  In St. Paul, Minn., on Jan. 20, 2018, the Cougars had 22 points from Evans and 17 by Aaron Rothermund in an 85-64 victory over CSP.  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. 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 Matthews 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.

USF trails MSU, 17-4 in series
 In a split of the season series, the Cougars defeated MSU at the Taylor Center. Trevon Evans and Drew Guebert led USF to a dominating 74-46 win over NSIC South Division Leader Minnesota State on Jan. 11, 2019. Evans scored a game-high 27 points with five rebounds, four assists, a block, steal and just one turnover in 35 minutes of action. 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 had 18 points and seven rebounds with two assists. Against the Mavericks, Guebert made 7-of-14 shots from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range. 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. 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. On Dec. 7, 2018 at the SC, USF dropped an 87-84 overtime decision to MSU. USF was led by Drew Guebert with 27 points and 10 rebounds and Trevon Evans with 21 points. Carlos Anderson had 30 points to lead MSU. On Feb. 17, 2018, Trevon Evans and Drew Guebert led USF to a 88-81 victory for their first win over MSU since moving to NCAA DII in 2012. Evans scored 33 points, including 18-of-21 from the free throw line, and Guebert supplied 28 points with nine rebounds. Guebert hit 4-of-8 from distance as USF was 7-of-20 from three-point land. MSU was led by Charlie Brown with 28 points and Chris Kendrix with 22. USF took a 99-82 loss to the Mavericks in Mankato on Jan. 19, 2018.  In that loss, USF had 28 points from Guebert and 24 by Evans. The key to the win for MSU was shooting 56.1 percent while USF was at 54.2 percent However, MSU, which was 20-of-32 for 62.5 percent in the second half, made 13-of-20 from three-point range. Interestingly, USF was 17-of-31 from the field in the second half and had a 33-30 rebound margin but made just four treys in 13 attempts.  

Breaking down USF through seven games
With three double doubles in seven games this season, junior forward Teathloach Pal is one-half of a strong front court combo with junior Austin Slater. Pal was named the NSIC Men's Basketball Player of the Week on Nov. 18 after scoring a career-high 26 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in the win over Dakota State at the Stewart Center. Pal, a junior forward from Fridley, Minn., is averaging a double double with 11.3 points and 10.9 rebounds per game, which leads the NSIC.  He also has a league-best 4.9 offensive rebounds per game. Pal has produced four double digit scoring games and eight in his career.  Pal had a career-high 17 boards against Pitt State and registered double doubles in three straight games to open season. With a game-high 13 rebounds in a win over SMSU, he reached double digit rebounds for the 11th time in his career. Pal is hitting a team-best 55.2 percent from the field on 32-of-58 shooting.

Junior forward Austin Slater is averaging 11.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. He has reached double digits four times in seven games. Slater has seven career double digit scoring games and three double doubles with seven games of double figure rebounds. 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. He had his first double double of the season against Chadron State on Nov. 22 after scoring 16 and grabbing 13 rebounds. He is hitting 24-of-45 shots from the field for 53.3 percent.

Sophomore guard Chase Grinde is also scoring double digits for USF with 10.0 points per game while adding 5.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He had a season-high 19 points plus seven rebounds as USF opened the NSIC season with a 74-56 decision against SMSU. He also had 12 points against Pittsburg State and has scored eight against Lincoln and DSU. He has three double digit scoring games as he had 11 points against Chadron State and added eight points and five rebounds against CSU Pueblo. Grinde has 10 double digit career scoring games.

Also for USF, William Lybaek had a career-high 15 points with a career-high three triples against DSU on Nov. 16 and also had 15 points with three treys against CSU Pueblo on Nov. 23. In the win over SMSU. Lybaek, who had 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field against SMSU, is averaging 8.0 points and 1.6 rebounds. He also had 10 points and a triple against CSC. Lybaek has reached double digits for the fourth time straight game and has hit 7-of-20 from three for 35 percent. He is 19-of-39 for 48.7 percent from the field. 

Reaching double digits for the first time in their careers was freshman Jack Thompson and sophomore guard Troy Houghton who had 10 points each in the win over SMSU to open the NSIC schedule.

As a team, USF is averaging 67.6 points and allowing 65.0 per game with 473 points scored and 455 allowed.  The Cougars, which rank third in the NSIC in scoring defense (65.0 ppg) own a 38.4-to-28.1 rebound edge which is a rebounding margin of 10.3 which ranks third in the NSIC. USF leads the NSIC in rebounding defense  (28.1 per game).

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 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. 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.