SIOUX FALLS -- The University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (19-10), which has won four of five games, will meet regular season champion Northern State (23-6) at noon on Sunday in the quarterfinals of the NSIC/Sanford Health Postseason Tourney at the Sanford Pentagon.

The Cougars, which earned the No. 4 seed after placing fourth in the South Division with a 13-9 record, will battle the North's No. 1 seed Northern State. The Wolves have played USF twice in the league tournament and recorded wins (73-62, 2015; 63-60, 2013).    

The Cougars, which rank second nationally in rebound margin (10.8 per game), opened the tournament with a 96-51 win over MInot State in a first round game at the Stewart Center. Trevon Evans had 23 points and Aaron Rothermund added 16 to lead USF. NSU registered a

USF recorded a .500 record or better for the fourth time in seven years in NSIC play.  This year, USF was 13-9 in league play and finished just a game out of first in the NSIC South. The Cougars, which was 10-4 in division play, has 19 wins or more in a season for the fifth time in the USF Head Coach Chris Johnson era. With a victory against top-seeded NSU, the Cougars will earn their 20th win for the second straight year and sixth time with head coach Chris Johnson.

The quarterfinals, semifinals and championship of the NSIC Tourney will take place on March 2, 4-5 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  All rounds of the NSIC/Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament played at the Sanford Pentagon will to aired live on MidcoSN and streamed for free via Stretch Internet.

USF-NSU - By the numbers
USF ranks sixth in the league in scoring (79.3 ppg) while NSU is seventh (79.0 ppg). The Cougars lead the NSIC in rebounds (41.7), rebound margin (10.7) and field goal percentage defense (41.6 percentage) while NSU is the top team in scoring defense (69.7), scoring margin (9.3 ppg) and rank second in rebound margin at 6.4 ppg. They also have hit 41.9 percent from three-point range while USF is at 36.1 percent.  

NSU leads USF in all-time series
USF trails NSU, 60-20 in a series that dates to the 1927-28 season when the Cougars won the first meeting, 20-18. USF will face NSU for the third time in the conference tournament. NSU holds a 2-0 lead over the Cougars in the league tournament. In 2012-13, USF was the No. 7 seed and NSU the No. 2 seed and fell 63-60 when Robert Goffney's three at the end was short. Goffney led USF with 23 points. In the 2014-15 season, USF played in the tournament's opening round in Aberdeen and dropped a 73-62 decision. Charles Ward had 17 points and Jordan Stotts added a double double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Tyler Storrusten had 19 to lead NSU. The Wolves recorded their first win in the series with a 31-22 decision in 1930-31. NSU has won nine straight in the series after a 90-84 win at the Barnett Center on Feb. 8. Trevon Evans had 28 points as four USF players scored in double digits. The game included 19 lead changes and eight ties. USF led, 44-40, at halftime but NSU outscored USF, 50-40 in the second half.  With 3:38 to play, the Cougars had a 82-80 lead but were outscored 10-2 the rest of the way. Drew Guebert added 13 and Devin Green supplied 12. Justin Decker and Ian Smith both had 22 points for NSU. NSU defeated USF, 97-75, in Aberdeen on Jan. 26, 2018, despite  Trevon Evans scoring a career high 42 points. With a late 15-0 run in the first half, NSU built a 46-33 advantage over the Cougars. The Wolves also had the edge in the second half, 51-42, to take the 22-point decision. USF led just once on Guebert's three to open the game. Two years ago at USF, NSU won a dramatic 86-84 decision.  After Mack Johnson, who had 18 points, converted a lay-up with 10 seconds to play, Mack Arvidson hit a three-pointer as the clock expired to give NSU the victory.  USF, which had a 35-23 advantage at halftime, led by as many  as 18 points early in the second half before the Wolves rallied. USF's last win over NSU was a 71-70 decision at Wachs Arena on Nov. 23, 2002. Adam Burnison scored 24 points while Brett Moody added 14. Jared Obering led NSU with 19.

NSIC Sanford Health Tournament Quarterfinals
Sunday, March  3, Sanford Pentagon    
 (S4) Sioux Falls vs (N1) Northern State, 12 p.m.
(N7) Minnesota Crookston vs (S6) Winona State, 2:30 p.m.
(N8) Bemidji State vs     (S5) SMSU, 5:30 p.m.
(N2) St. Cloud State vs Wayne State, 8 p.m.

USF in NSIC Tourney  - Breakdown
The Cougars stand  4-6 in the NSIC Postseason Tournament, including two straight road wins in the opening round. The Cougars will play a first round home game in the tourney for the second straight season.

Game-by-Game

Sioux Falls 96 Minot State 51
Game Notes: Trevon Evans had 23 points and five assists while Aaron Rothermund added 16 points as USF opened the 2018-19 conference tourney with a dominating 96-51 win over Minot State at the Stewart Center.  Rothermund had four three pointers in six attempts and helped USF build a 44-25 halftime lead. The Cougars, which placed 13 players in the scoring column and shot 55.6 percent from the field, outscored MiSU, 52-26, in the second half. USF also had nine points and five rebounds from Chase Grinde by Milan Sulic had season highs with seven assists and seven rebounds. Drew Guebert had seven points and seven rebounds but was hampered by foul issues.

St. Cloud State 67 Sioux Falls 56
Game Notes: Drew Guebert had a double double of 22 points and 12 rebounds but USF (20-10) dropped a 67-56 decision to St. Cloud State (23-7) in the quarterfinals of the NSIC Sanford Health Tournament on Feb. 24, 2018 at the Sanford Pentagon. SCSU, the No. 2 seed, also had 13 points, four assists and two steals from Trevon Evans. Gage Davis had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead SCSU, which led from start to finish. USF cut the lead to eight points twice in the second half but were outscored, 32-31 after trailing 35-25 at the halftime break.

Sioux Falls 98 Minnesota Crookston 68
Game Notes: Trevon Evans scored 23 points with 10 assists, Drew Guebert added 20 points and Aaron Rothermund supplied 17 as USF (20-9) shot 60.3 percent from the floor in rolling past Minnesota Crookston (10-18) on Feb. 21, 2018 in the first round of the NSIC Sanford Health Postseason Tourney at the Stewart Center. It was USF's third straight opening round win in the league tournament but the first at home.  Rothermund hit a career-best five triples on seven shots and was 6-of-9 from the floor. USF led, 41-27, at halftime and outscored the Golden Eagles, 57-41 in the second stanza. The victory helped USF win a program-best 20 wins in a season.

Southwest Minnesota State 79 Sioux Falls 68, Feb. 25, 2017
Game Notes: Drew Guebert had 19 points, including four three pointers, and Mack Johnson added 16 but the Cougars (15-17) lost to the eventual NSIC Tournament champions for a second straight year. SMSU (24-5), led by 34 points by Ryan Bruggeman, led 38-33 at halftime and outscored the Cougars 41-35 in the second half. USF shot 36.9 percent while the Mustangs made nearly 51 percent from the floor. Both teams had 36 rebounds but USF's 8-to-4 edge in made threes was enough to overcome the shooting discrepancy and SMSU's 21-to-12 edge in free throws.

Sioux Falls 80 Minot State 77
Game Notes: A game-winning three pointer with 2.8 seconds to play by sophomore Drew Guebert lifted USF (15-16) to a come-from-behind 80-77 victory over Minot State (14-16) in the opening round of the NSIC Sanford Health Tournament on Feb. 22, 201 at the Minot State Dome. Guebert had 23 points, setting a career-high with six made threes. The Cougars rallied from a 61-54 second half deficit behind the shooting artistry of Guebert, who had 16 points and five threes in the second 20 minutes of play. Zach Wessels had 14 points and Mack Johnson, 13, for USF. Tyler Rudolph had 21 points for MISU.

AU 105 Sioux Falls 100
Game Notes: USF (17-13) pushed top seeded and city rival Augustana (26-2) to the limit before falling, 105-100, in the NSIC Quarterfinals before a full house of 3,182 fans at a raucous Sanford Pentagon on Feb. 27, 2016. The Cougars put a scare into the #2 nationally ranked Vikings but a huge difference at the foul line and a slight edge in shooting percentage was the difference. The Cougars had a season-high six players in double figure points, including 20 from Clint Thomas while Mack Johnson added 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Daniel Hurtt added 13.

Sioux Falls 80 Minn. Duluth 74
Game Notes: Mack Johnson scored 28 points and added six rebounds and three assists as USF won its first-ever NSIC Tournament game, on the road in Duluth, Minn., at Romano Gym on Feb. 24, 2016. Jordan Stotts had a double double of 17 points and 10 rebounds for USF which hit 8-of-14 from three point range. Pierre Newton had 32 for UMD.

Northern State 73 USF 62
Game Notes: USF, which hit 7-of-12 from 3 point range, was led by Charles Ward with 17 points and three treys in the opening round of the NSIC Tourney at Bob Wachs Arena in Aberdeen on Feb. 25, 2015. Jordan Stotts had a double double with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Mack Johnson added 13 points.  Tyler Storrusten had 19 while both Darin Peterka and DJ Pollard had 17.

St. Cloud State 86 Sioux Falls 75
Game Notes: The Cougars lost a high-scoring affair with SCSU, falling 86-75 as the Huskies hit 53.4 percent from the field in a first-round NSIC Tournament game at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud, Minn., on Feb. 26, 2014.  USF was led by  Ward with 17 while Mahlon Jones and Mack Johnson added 13. MJ was 3-of-4 on 3's.  Matt Craggs had 29 for SCSU.

Northern State 63 USF, 60
Game Notes: Despite 23 from Robert Goffney, USF fell to NSU, in the opening round of the NSIC Tournament in 2012-13 at Bob Wachs Arena in Aberdeen on Feb. 27, 2013. NSU was led by 21 from Collin Pryor.  The Cougars, which were seeded No. 7 and NSU, No. 2 had a shot to tie at the buzzer bu Robert Goffey's shot from three was just a little short. USF outrebounded the Wolves, 37-31, but were hurt by 15 turnovers. NSU had just eight. David Maxwell  added 14 points for USF.

Evans and Guebert named to first-team All-NSIC
Seniors Trevon Evans and Drew Guebert, the only tandem in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference to both rank in the top-six in scoring, were named to the first team on the All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate All-NSIC Team as released Thursday (Feb. 28) by the league office. Both USF student-athletes, which have led USF to a 19-10 mark and berth in the NSIC Sanford Health Postseason Tourney quarterfinals for a fourth straight season, earned honors on the all-league team for a second straight year. Evans, a senior criminal justice major from Wichita, Kan., earned his second straight first-team honor. Guebert, a senior business major from Apple Valley, Minn., was selected to the first team for the first time. Guebert was a second-team selection a year ago.  Team selection was conducted through nomination and subsequent ballots by NSIC Coaches.  

With Evans and Guebert in the lineup USF has put together the best two-year mark in the program's DII era at 39-20. During Guebert's four seasons at USF, the Cougars have a 71-49 mark. Guebert and Evans and their teammates will face the No. 1 seed from the North Division, Northern State (23-6) at noon on Sunday at the Sanford Pentagon in the tourney quarterfinals.

Evans ranks 14th in DII in scoring at 22.9 per game & ranks as top two-year scorer in USF history
 
Evans ranks third in the NSIC and 14th in NCAA DII in scoring at 22.9 per game. In 58 career games, Evans, an All-NSIC selection and NSIC Newcomer of the Year in 2017-18, has also supplied 4.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He ranks second in the NSIC with 3.0 three-pointers per game.  On Wednesday night, Evans surpassed 20 points (23) for the 34th time in his career and ran his career point total to 1,274, which ranks 16th on USF all-time list. Evans, who has the most points at USF in two years at the school, also has 663 points this season which is the fourth most for a season in school history. Additionally, he now has 55 career double-digit scoring games and with two triples in the win over Minot State has the eighth most threes at USF in a career at 153. Evans needs 10 nine points to move into 15th all-time in scoring at USF. Named NSIC South Division Preseason Co-Player of the Year in 2018-19, he has 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. Evans, who averaged 23.2 ppg in league play, has 18, 20-point games this season with a career-high 42 points against NSU on Jan. 26, 2018. He is now third at USF in made threes for a season with 86. Six times, including three times this year, he has been named the NSIC South Division Player of the Week. On the NSIC all-time scoring chart he has 979 points in NSIC games only, which places him 37th in just two years of games. He has been named to the Bevo Francis Award Watch list, which includes the top 100 players in small college basketball.  
 
Guebert ranks No. 3 in scoring and first in made threes all-time at USF

Guebert ranks third all-time in scoring at USF with 1,958 points in 121 games with 104 career starts.  He is USF's career leader in three pointers with 264. This season, the senior forward has averaged 19.1 points for sixth in the NSIC and with 5.8 rebounds per game is 15th in the NSIC. He is also 15th in the league in field goal shooting at 48.8 percent. Guebert, who has made 40.5 percent from three-point range in his career (261-of-652), is making 43.5 percent (60-of-135) from distance this year.
 
A two-time Academic All-NSIC selection, Guebert, who has earned three NSIC Player of the Week and a U.S. Basketball Writers Association recognition, has also finished seventh on the NSIC all-time scoring list (league games only) with 1,423 points. He has 91 career games in double-digit points and 43 games of 20 points or more, including 16 this season. Twice this year he has scored a season-high of 33 points.
 
Guebert, who has made 63 straight starts, is fourth all-time in games play at USF with 121. He also has totaled five double doubles and six games of 30 points or more.  Guebert, who scored a career-high 36 points against SMSU in Nov. 25, 2017, is the first player at USF to make 59 or more threes in four straight years and has cracked 497 points or more in three straight seasons. With 667 made field goals and 359 free throws, ranks fourth all-time in both categories at USF. He is also one of seven players in school history with a combination of 1,500 points (1,958) and 600 rebounds (607).  With 554 points this year, he ranks 20th for a season all-time at USF. A year ago, he had 596 points, which ranks 16th at USF.