<sup>MANKATO, Minn. -- For the second straight season, the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (7-2, 3-0 NSIC) rolled up a big lead and with 21 points from sophomore guard Chase Grinde led from start to finish in an 86-81 win over NSIC favorite Minnesota State (3-5, 1-1-1 NSIC) at the Taylor Center on Saturday night.   

USF moved to 7-2 and 3-0 and at the top of the NSIC South (tie with Augustana) after recording a season high in points in the impressive road win over MSU. For the third straight game, Grinde led the way as he scored 21 points with seven rebounds, and an assist. MSU dropped to 3-5 overall and 1-1 in NSIC play.

Grinde, who has three straight double digit scoring games (19, 20, 21) in NSIC play, scored 20 points for the third time in his career and was just one off his career-high of 22 against Winona State on Jan. 26, 2019. He hit 7-of-12 field goals and added seven foul shots for his 12th double digit scoring game of his career.

Joining Grinde in double figures was sophomore guard Troy Houghton, who had a career-high for a third straight game with 14 points. Houghton, who was 6-of-6 from the floor and hit two free throws with five rebounds and two steals, recorded his third straight game in double digits. Also coming up big for the Cougars was senior guard Milan Surlic with 11 points as he made a season-high 3-of-5 three-pointers.

Senior captain Devin Green came off bench to provide 15 points as he hit 6-of-9 field goals and also had two rebounds, an assist and two blocks in 25 minutes of work. In the past two games, USF has had at least four players in double digits in both the win over Concordia St. Paul on Friday and MSU tonight. USF also had eight points, three steals and six rebounds by junior forward Teathloach Pal while junior forward Austin Slater provided nine points, eight rebounds and a block.

"We played very well offensively all game," said USF Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Johnson, who registered his 202nd career win at USF and 218th overall. "I also felt we got after them on defense, especially in the opening half. This was a big win and this team continues to find a way to win. I am just really impressed with how they are playing together and really sharing the basketball," added Johnson, whose team recorded a road sweep for the ninth time in school history.

One of the key factors for USF was its shooting and work on the boards, noted Johnson. The Cougars hit 29-of-55 shots from the field for 52.7 percent as they surpassed 50 percent shooting for a third straight game. USF, which was 24-of-35 from the foul line and his 4-of-9 from three-point range, held a 36-to-28 margin on the boards as they have outrebounded every opponent this season. In fact, they have a plus-eight margin of rebounds in six of USF's nine games.

"We are finding our identity and sometimes that is scratching out a game in the 60s and other times it is scoring like we did tonight," added Johnson, whose team matched the season high output of 52.7 percent shooting from the field against CSP last night.

The Cougars jumped to a 23-9 lead (8:58, 1st) and took a 42-28 lead to halftime. The Cougars, which outscored MSU, 26-to-8, with points in the paint in the first half, were outscored 53-44 in the second half but their first half margin proved to be the different.

Scoring Recap –
USF was able to build a double-digit lead at halftime due to his defense, board work and outstanding shooting. The Cougars knocked in 17-of-29 shots for 58.6 percent and hit a pair of threes. Meanwhile, MSU was just 8-of-24 from the field for 33.3 percent and 4-of-12 from distance.

Grinde, Pal, Slater and Houghton scored baskets for USF in the opening seven minutes as they took a 10-6 lead (13:22).  At that point USF took off on a 13-3 run to grab the 23-9 advantage over the Mavericks on a lay-up by Grinde with 8:58 left in the first half.

After MSU cut the lead back to nine points (26-17, 6:07, 1st), the Cougars extended the margin to 30-17 when Grinde scored again in the paint. Then freshman guard Jack Thompson hit a three-pointer (2:40, 1st) followed by a jumper in the paint from Green (1:32, 1st) for a 38-22 advantage.

With 11 seconds left Jaxon Simons hit a pair of foul shots as USF took its largest lead of the game at 17 points (42-25, 1st). However, MSU answered with a three from Coryon Seales, who had 11 points on the night, to draw within 14 at the half-time break.

In the second half, MSU was able to rally back as they hit 21-of-32 shots for 65.6 percent and made 6-of-11 from three-point range for 54.5 percent. However, USF was able to sustain a lead because they were solid from the field on 12-of-26 shooting for 46.2 percent, hit a couple of threes (both by Surlic) and made 18-of-25 from the foul line.

Out of the break, Kevin Krieger, who scored 13 points on the night, made a lay-up to cut the lead to 45-33 (18:34) but the Cougars responded with a jumper from Will Lybaek and a lay-up by Surlic to re-take a 16-point lead at 17:08 left in the game.

Once again, MSU responded with five straight points, including a basket from Cameron Kirksey, who had a team-high 19 for MSU, as they cut USF's lead to 49-38 with 15:31 left on the block. Kirksey helped MSU cut the lead to seven at 53-46 as part of an 8-4 run with a three at the 13:23 mark.

Once again the Cougars had the answer with nine straight points with Houghton's lay-up with 10:42 left providing a 62-46 advantage. For the next five minutes the Cougars lead moved from 12 to 16 points as two Grinde foul shots provided a 73-57 advantage with 6:05 to play.

Gradually, MSU cut into the lead and moved within 10 (79-69) at the 2:58 mark as Krieger knocked in a three. However, MSU couldn't not really cut deep into the deficit until the final minute. Down by 10 with 23 seconds left, MSU had a three-point play from Seales, a three from Krieger and a jumper from Landon Wolf in the final seconds to draw within 86-81.</sup>