USF Men's BB will host Winona State and Upper Iowa in final regular home series with Senior Day set for Saturday
SIOUX FALLS -- The University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (15-9, 10-8 NSIC) will close the regular season home schedule by hosting South Division foes Winona State (11-13, 8-10 NSIC) at 7:30 p.m., on Friday, Feb. 15 and Upper Iowa (6-18, 3-15 NSIC) at 6 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 16 on Senior's Night at the Stewart Center.

AT STAKE 

After an 0-2 road trip to Northern State (90-84 loss) and MSU Moorhead (75-71 loss), the Cougars sit in a tie for third place in the NSIC South with Augustana at 10-8. With four games to play, USF still has a shot at the South Division crown as they stand two games back of co-division leaders Wayne State and Minnesota State at 12-6.  

How Things Stand for the Coo
Last weekend, the Cougars had 28 points from Trevon Evans and 13 from Drew Guebert in a 90-84 loss at Northern State on Feb. 8. Evans, who was named the NSIC Player of the Week for a third time this year and sixth time in his career on Monday, Feb. 12, had a season-high 39 points in a loss to MSUM on Feb. 9.  This week USF faces Winona State, which defeated USF, 80-77, in an earlier meeting at McCown Gym in Winona. The Warriors are tied for fifth in the NSIC South with SMSU as both stand 8-10 in league play. Last weekend, WSU dropped an 87-72 decision to Minot State and defeated U-Mary, 84-56 at home.

WSU, directed by veteran head coach Todd Eisner (474 career wins), has won 5-of-7 games. They are led by Kevion Taylor, who averages 16.6 points and 6.4 rebounds. He has hit 41 percent from three on a team that ranks eighth in the NSIC in three-point shooting at 38.7 percent. Caleb Wagner also averages in double digits at 12.5 ppg. At 10.5 threes per game, WSC ranks second in the NSIC.

On Saturday on Senior Night, USF will host Upper Iowa, which is 6-18 overall and 3-15 in league play. The Peacocks, directed by head coach Brooks McKowen, have lost 12 straight but have had some tough luck with six losses by six points or fewer, including one in overtime. Last weekend, the Peacocks lost at home to U-Mary, 78-72, and Minot State, 87-84. Jareese Williams leads UIU with 14.7 points per game and has hit 44.9 percent from three. UIU, which averages the most three-pointers per game in the NSIC at 11.4 per game, also has received 14.0 points from Joe Smoldt and 11.7 points and 5.5 rebounds from Munachiso Okonkwo.

Seniors will be honored prior to start of USF-UIU game Saturday

The USF Men's Basketball Program, directed by all-time wins leader Chris Johnson (207 wins, 191 at USF), will honor five seniors on Saturday prior to the start of the Upper Iowa game. USF will honor senior forward Drew Guebert, senior guard Trevon Evans, senior guard Aaron Rothermund, senior guard Jacoby Odegaard and senior forward Justin Taylor. Here is a bio sketch on the seniors, who have helped USF to a 35-19 record in the past two years and a 67-48 mark over the past four seasons. Led by this group of seniors, USF has advanced to the NSIC Postseason Tournament quarterfinals three straight years.  
 

Trevon Evans - A 6-0 guard from Wichita, Kan., Evans ranks third in the NSIC in scoring at 23.3 per game. In 53 career games, Evans, an All-NSIC selection and NSIC Newcomer of the Year in 2017-18, has 1,169 career points, which ranks 23rd all-time at USF. He also has 139 made threes which rank 11th all-time at USF. Named NSIC South Division Preseason Co-Player of the Year in 2018-19, Evans has 558 points this season, which is 18th all-time at USF. With 42 points, he can become just the second player in school history with 600 points in back- to-back seasons. Gayle Hoover, a USF Athletics and South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame inductee, had 627 points (9th all-time at USF, 28.5 ppg) in 1956-57 as a junior and added 605 points (13th all-time at USF, 25.2 ppg) as a senior in 1957-58 for USF. A year ago, Evans had 611 points,which ranks 12th all-time. Evans has 15, 20-point games this season and 31 for his career with nine 30-point games, including a career-high 42 points against NSU on Jan. 26, 2018. He is tied for seventh at USF in made threes for a season with 72. He needs five threes to move into the top five for a season all-time at USF. This week, he was named the NSIC South Division Player of the Week for a sixth time in his career and third time in 2018-19. He has been named to the Bevo Francis Award Watch list, which includes the top 100 players in small college basketball. A criminal justice major, he is the son of Gina Evans and Wayne Evans.  
 

Drew Guebert - A 6-9 forward from Apple Valley, Minn., Guebert ranks third all-time in scoring at USF with 1,870 points in 116 games with 95 career starts. He is USF's career leader in three pointers with 253. A two-time Academic All-NSIC selection, he was named All-NSIC a year ago. Guebert has also moved into 10th place on the NSIC all-time  scoring list (league games only) with 1,342 points. He has 88 career games in double-digit points and 40 games of 20 points or more. Guebert, who has made 58 straight starts, is tied for ninth all-time (three others) at USF in games played at 116 and needs two more games to move into a three-way tie for fifth in games played at 118 with Chad Bendt,1991-95; David Maxwell, 2009-13; and Zach Wessels, 2014-18. He also has totaled five double doubles and five games of 30 points or more with a career high 36 points in an overtime win over SMSU on Nov. 25, 2017 at the Stewart Center. A business administration major, he is the son of Melissa and Dan Guebert.
 

Justin Taylor - A  6-5 forward from Chicago, Ill.., has scored 247 points and grabbed 183 rebounds with 34 blocks in his career, which includes 51 games with 18 starts. He had a career-high 26 points against Upper Iowa on Jan. 25, and 15 rebounds against Concordia St. Paul.  He has totaled seven double digit scoring games with two double doubles. An

exercise major, he is the son of Marvin Taylor and Ann White.

Jacoby Odegaard - A 6-0 guard from Hartford, S.D., has played in 18 games and scored 15 points with a career-high three points five times. A business administration major, he is the son of Troy and Julie Odegaard.

Aaron Rothermund - A 6-2 guard from Papillion, Neb., Rothermund has played in 57 games with nine double-digit scoring games. He had a career-high of 21 points against Augustana on Feb. 9, 2018 at the SF Arena. In his career, he has made 24 starts including nine this year. He has accumulated 295 points, 124 rebounds and 63 assists in his USF career. The son of Mark and Chris Rothermund, he is a psychology major and has applied to occupational therapy graduate programs.

Winona State leads USF, 8-6, in series
USF will play Winona State for the 15th time on Friday, Feb. 15, dating to an 84-66 win by the Warriors in the 1969-70 season. The Cougars have won four of the last six games. On Jan. 26, WSU hit 17 three pointers and Kevion Taylor had  27 points in an 80-77 win over USF at McCown Gym in Winona, Minn. Drew Guebert had 23 and Chase Grinde a career -high 22 points and nine rebounds in the loss. On Dec. 1,  2017 at the Stewart Center, USF received 23 points from Guebert and 17 from Zach Wessels in an 80-64 victory over WSU. On Jan. 6, 2018, the Cougars had 31 points from Guebert but suffered a 72-70 setback in Winona, Minn.  In the 2016-17 season, the Cougars defeated WSU, 90-81, in Winona on Dec. 2, 2016. USF also picked up a 58-55 home win over  Winona State on Jan. 7, 2017. In the 90-81 win, Mack Johnson had 23 points, including six three-pointers, and Guebert, added 21. USF, which also had 18 points from Zach Wessels (6-of-8 from the floor), led 35-29 at halftime before shooting 57.1 percent (16-of-28) in the second half in outscoring the Warriors, 55-52, to take the win.  In the second game that season at the Stewart Center, USF, led by 13 points from Clint Thomas, built a 13-point lead in the second half and held off a rally by the Warriors in the final six minutes. USF led, 35-29, at halftime but were outscored, 26-23 in the second half. Drew Guebert added eight points and 12 rebounds. Conner Flack had 14 and Corey Jeffs, 13, to lead the Warriors.  The Warriors pulled within two points late, including 55-53 with a minute to play. However, M. Johnson, who had 10 points, converted a driving jumper and then hit a free throw with 17 seconds left to give USF a 58-55 lead. WSU put up two late three point attempts from Corey Jeffs and Riley Bambanek, but the shots did not fall as the Cougars swept WSU in the season series. WSU defeated USF, 80-69 on Dec. 5, 2015. USF returned the favor with an 83-78 decision at the Stewart Center on Jan. 8, 2016. In Winona, Mack Johnson had 28 points. In the win in Sioux Falls, the Cougars had four players in double digits with M. Johnson scoring 23 while Guebert had 15 and Daniel Hurtt 11.  On Jan. 9, 2015, Winona recorded a 79-64 victory as Corey Jeffs had 29 points, including 7-of-8 from three point range. In the matchup in Sioux Falls, the Cougars took a 76-54 decision at the Stewart Center on Dec. 6, 2014. Mack Johnson scored 19. The win was USF's second straight over WSU, taking a 76-69 win on Jan. 18, 2014 as Charles Ward scored 17. In the first meeting of the 2013-14 season, WSU recorded a 90-65 decision at Winona. In 2012-13, WSU defeated USF twice, taking a 76-61 win at the McCown Gym on Jan. 15, 2013 and a 73-63 win on Jan. 25, 2013 at the Stewart Center.

USF trails UIU, 9-7 in all-time series
Sioux Falls has four straight wins over Upper Iowa but trails the Peacocks, 9-7, in the overall series. The two teams will meet for the 17th time after USF took a 81-72 decision in Fayette on Jan. 25, 2019. Justin Taylor scored a career-high 26 points and Guebert also added 26 points as the Cougars picked up the win. In the 2017-18 season, USF, which had 28 points from Evans and 17 from Guebert, took a 77-72 road win at Fayette, Iowa, on Jan. 6, 2018.  USF also took a 90-78 victory on Dec. 2, 2017 at the Stewart Center. Evans had 31 points and Guebert, 19, while Carson Parker scored 27 for UIU. USF also defeated Upper Iowa, 73-57 on Jan. 6, 2017. USF limited Upper Iowa to 33.3 percent shooting from the field on 21-of-63 shooting. In addition, the Cougars held UIU to 3-of-20 from three point range or 15 percent. Leading the Cougars offensively was Mack Johnson, who had 19 points and six rebounds to go with three assists. On Dec. 3, 2016, UIU took a home 78-76 decision over USF despite 22 points by Guebert. USF, which trailed 41-38 at halftime, drew within 74-73 with 34 seconds to play, and had opportunities to tie or take the lead in the final three minutes but couldn't get the shots to drop. The series dates to a 100-94 win by Upper Iowa in 1965-66. The Cougars recorded its first win over the Peacocks in 2005 with a 74-56 decision. In 2015-16, Upper Iowa and USF won on each other's home floor. With Mack Johnson scoring a career high 39 points, USF defeated Upper Iowa, 85-79 on Dec. 5, 2015 in Fayette, Iowa.  Upper Iowa returned the favor with an 81-68 decision on Jan. 9 at the Stewart Center. USF had 15 points from Guebert and 14 from Kebu Johnson. UIU was led by Carson Parker with 23.  The Peacocks won twice in 2012-13 with a 71-62 win in Fayette on Jan. 4, 2013 and an 82-74 decision on Jan. 26, 2013 at the Stewart Center. In the 2013-14 season, USF defeated Upper Iowa, 84-78 at the Stewart Center on Jan. 17, 2014. Earlier in the season, Upper Iowa took a 96-87 win over the Cougars in Fayette on Dec. 14, 2013. The Peacocks recorded a 82-66 win over USF on Dec. 5, 2014 at the Stewart Center and a 100-87 verdict in Fayette, Iowa on Jan. 10, 2015.  

Cougars rank second in NCAA DII in rebound margin
USF has outrebounded 23-of-24 opponents this year and leads the NSIC at 41.4 boards per game, which is 15th in DII. The Cougars are ranked first in the NSIC and second in NCAA DII in rebound margin at 10.5. The Cougars enter play this weekend also ranking ninth in DII in total rebounds with 993.  Through 24 games a year ago, USF had 928 rebounds.

USF, which sits sixth in scoring defense at 71.9 ppg, ranks first in the NSIC in field goal defense at 41.9 percent and fourth in three-point field goal percentage at 35.5 percent. The Cougars are seventh in scoring at 79.1 points per game, which places USF fourth in scoring margin at 7.2 ppg.