SIOUX FALLS – After a pair of stinging road losses, the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (16-9, 11-8 NSIC) returned home and turned to its All-NSIC senior tandem of Drew Guebert and Trevon Evans to lead the team to a hard-fought 84-80 double overtime win over Winona State (11-14, 8-11 NIC) at the Stewart Center Friday night.

Guebert and Evans, who will be among five seniors playing their final regular season home game on Saturday at Upper Iowa at 6 p.m., shined against WSU. Guebert had 33 points and nine rebounds while Trevon Evans supplied 25 points and six rebounds, including some key free throws in the final seconds of the second overtime. USF won in double overtime for the first time since Feb. 2, 2011 when the Cougars beat former NAIA rival Dakota Wesleyan, 94-89 at the Stewart Center. With the victory over WSU, USF retained a tie for third in the NSIC South at 11-8.

It was a night when Guebert reached 30 points for the sixth time in his career with his 89th career double-digit scoring game. He also had 20 points or more for the 41^st time as he became the third player in school history to eclipse 1,900 career points (1,903). A senior from Apple Valley, Minn., Guebert hit 13-of-22 field goals and 5-of-11 from three-point range. With his five threes, Guebert has 258 in his career as he continued to extend his all-time lead at USF in the long distance shooting category. He also had the nine rebounds as well as two assists and a block in playing 47 of the 50 minutes of the game.

Evans, of Wichita, Kan., made 8-of-24 field goals and knocked down three triples along with 6-of-8 foul shots in 43 minutes on the floor. With his total, Evans now has 1,194 career points which moves him into 19^th all-time on USF's career scoring chart. With three more triples, he has 75 on the season which ties him with Rod Merriam (1984-85) for sixth on the USF season chart. And, with 142 career threes, he is just two away from 10^th on USF's all-time chart (Jesse Huser, 143, 2006-08).

USF's dynamic duo accounted for 58 of the 84 points on the night. But Johnson's squad had strong performances across its roster. USF also had seven points, eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals from redshirt freshman Chase Grinde. Senior Aaron Rothermund added eight points and five rebounds while hitting a pair of three pointers.

"Tonight was a case of a team grinding out a win against a tough opponent," said USF Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Johnson, who earned his 192^nd career win at USF and his 208^th overall. "We defeated a team that can really shoot it by getting some stops late in regulation and overtime. Drew (Guebert) was really good tonight and Trevon (Evans) stepped up in a big way with some drives and foul shots. Chase (Grinde) also had a really nice all-around game as did Aaron (Rothermund)," said Johnson.

On Jan. 26 in Winona, Minn., the Warriors made 17-of-30 three-pointers and took a closely contested 80-77 decision over USF. At the Stewart Center tonight, they made 15-of-35 from three-point distance for 42.9 percent. But this time, USF had the counter. The Cougars made 11 made threes in 30 attempts and held a 46-to-34 rebound edge which provided them with additional shots. It was the 24^th time in 25 games that the Cougars have won the rebound battle this year. Crucial to USF's success was 12 offensive boards and a 34-to-24 edge of points in the paint as well as an 8-to-4 edge in second chance points.

Overall, USF made 32-of-70 field goals for 45.7 percent and were 9-of-12 at the foul line for 75 percent. WSU, which was led by Mason Domask with 19 points and Kevion Taylor with 18 points and nine boards, hit 28-of-68 field goals for 41.2 percent. They were also solid at the foul line by converting 9-of-10.

Game Breakdown
After USF led midway through the first half, WSU had a late surge to take a 36-32 advantage after the first quarter. USF had a 34-30 advantage in the second half as the two teams finished tied at 66 at the end of regulation. The two teams scored just four points each in the first overtime before USF's 14-10 advantage in the second overtime was the difference as the Cougars gained a split of the season series.

In the opening minutes of the game, neither team was finding much offense as a three-point play by Evans gave USF a 7-4 lead at the 14:39 mark. With the score tied at 8-8, the teams started to uncork their offenses as they traded consecutive threes on both ends as triples by Evans and Guebert were matched by WSU's Taylor and Alec Rosner as the game as tied at 14.

At the 6:35 mark, Guebert second straight basket gave the Cougars a 22-19 advantage. But WSU would answer as they outscored USF 17-to-10 over the final 6:15 of the half for a 36-32 halftime lead.

While trailing at halftime may have been alarming to some USF statistical wonks, it turned out to be the opposite for this Cougars squad. For the first time this year in eight attempts, USF defeated an opponent when trailing at the break.

With the game tied at 40, USF had a 9-2 run to grab a 49-42 lead with 14:11 to play. But as would be the case at the SC on this night, leads would evaporate. With an 8-0 run including threes from Nick Klug and Domask, WSU took a 50-49 lead at the 12:07 mark. WSU's run was ended on a dunk by Guebert at the 11-minute mark as the Cougars regained the lead.

Then, Guebert had a lay-up and a triple as the Cougars led 58-52 with 5:54 to play. But WSU responded as Klug's three-pointer with 1:59 to play tied the game at 66 as part of a 14-to-8 run.

Both teams had shots to take the lead but USF had a missed lay-up and a turnover while WSU missed two shots over the final two minutes. As a result, USF went into overtime for the first time since an 87-84 loss at home to Minnesota State. In the first overtime against WSU, the defenses prevailed as both teams had just four points and a second overtime was required with the game knotted at 70.

In the second overtime, WSU took a 74-70 lead after a basket from Taylor. But Guebert rallied USF back by knocking home a three. Then, he hit a pair of foul shots to keep USF within a point. Evans joined in the fun as he had a pair of fast break baskets with the second coming with 51 seconds left on an assist off a defensive board by Grinde.

Two foul shots from Klug cut the USF lead to 82-80 with nine seconds to go. After Evans was fouled, the senior calmly stepped up and made two charity tosses with eight seconds to play to help USF improve their home mark to 7-4 and pick up a crucial 11^th conference win.