WINONA, MINN – With a double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds from junior forward Teathloach Pal and two free throws with two seconds left from Chase Grinde, (RV) University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball (20-5, 16-3 NSIC) clinched a tie for the NSIC South Division title by rallying for a 51-49 win and a season sweep of Winona State (14-11, 11-8 NSIC) on Friday (Feb. 14) at McCown Gym.

With the victory, the Cougars moved to 16-3 on the season in league play to clinch the tie for the NSIC South and maintained a one-game lead for the overall NSIC lead over Northern State (19-6, 15-4 NSIC). With three games to play, USF, which has won six straight games, has a three-game lead over Upper Iowa (16-9, 13-6 NSIC).

USF, which will play at Upper Iowa at 5:30 pm on Saturday (Feb. 15), was won 20 or more games for the sixth time with USF Head Coach Chris Johnson and for the second time in three seasons in the NSIC.

Johnson, whose teams has a DII program-best 20-5 overall mark, was pleased with his team's resilient effort and ability to rally on the road for their ninth road win in 10 games.

"This was another gutty win by a group that sticks together and seems to keep finding ways to beat good teams on the road," said Johnson, who earned his 215th career win at USF (231 overall). "I was very proud of our fight and resilience tonight. Both Chase (Grinde) and Tessy (Teathloach Pal) made some really big plays for us down the stretch on offense. And, on top of that, the entire group continued to shine on defense," he said.

The Cougars, which lead the NSIC in scoring defense (67.1 ppg), held its eighth opponent under 60 points. And, USF did it against a hot team with seven wins in the past 10 games with just three overtime losses. Plus, USF and WSU played to the fifth straight game decided by three points or fewer. USF had won two straight at the Stewart Center and both went to overtime included an 87-85 on Jan. 25. The last time the teams played at WSU, the Warriors took an 80-77 win on Jan. 26, 2019. This team, the Cougars had the answer for a third straight win over the Warriors.

USF trailed at halftime, 24-18, after both teams struggled offensively as the defenses dominated early. Led by Pal and Grinde, USF outscored WSU, 33-25, in the second half to earn the win.

Pal made 8-of-11 field goals and two free throws for 18 points and had 15 boards, which included six offensive boards along with a blocked shot. He registered his seventh double-double of the season and 13 of his career. He also has 22 career double-digit scoring games and 17 with double-digits in rebounds. Grinde supplied 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the floor and 4-of-4 at the foul line. He also had double-digits in points for a 10 straight game while his eight rebounds tonight represented a season-high.

USF, which biggest lead was six points (47-41, 2:34, 2^nd half), hit 20-of-47 shots for 42.6 percent. The Cougars made just 2-of-9 from three-point range for 22.2 percent. However, USF, which opened 0-7 from the foul line, finished 9-of-17 for 52.9 percent. Despite 22 turnovers and 18 personal fouls, the Cougars had a 40-23 edge in rebounds as they won the board battle for the 23^rd time in 25 games. With Pal's production, USF had a 34-of-24 edge in points in the paint and the rebound edge helped USF to a 12-to-3 edge in second chance points.

USF's defense played a key role as they held WSU to 16-of-50 shooting for 32 percent. And, USF held the league's top three-point shooting team (11.7 per game), to just 3-of-28 for 10.7 percent. However, WSU made 14-of-18 free throws and committed just 11 turnovers. USF recorded six steals with three blocks as they caused problems for the WSU offense all night.

The Warriors were led by Clint Wagner with 16 points, six steals and four assists. However, Wagner, who had 47 points in the last game, didn't hit a three. Kevion Taylor, who had 26 points in the earlier USF-WSU game, had 10 tonight but made just 2-of-11 from three-point range.

Scoring Summary -

USF opened the game by scoring the first four points and then moved to a 12-6 lead with 8:59 to play in the first half after Pal scored inside. With 6:38 to play, USF had a 14-10 lead after baskets from Devin Green and Milan Surlic. WSU rallied with a 14-4 run to take a 24-18 lead at halftime. USF was led by eight points from Pal. USF made just 45 percent from the field but committed 16 turnovers and 11 fouls.

After falling behind by eight (26-18), early in the second half, sophomore guard Troy Houghton knocked in a three as USF closed within 26-21 with 17:12. Then with 15:14 to play, Jack Thompson hit a three and with Green's inside jumper, USF tied the game at 26-26 with eight straight points. Then WSU made two straight baskets with a jumper from Luke Martens with 13:34 providing a 30-26 lead.

At that point, the offenses began to produce. Pal had back-to-back dunks to end WSU's 6-0 run and cut the lead to 32-30 with 11:15 to play. Over the next six minutes, USF had a 9-4 run to lead 39-37 at the 5:11 mark. After that USF was able to maintain a small edge with clutch baskets. With 3:39 to play Grinde's two foul shots gave USF a 46-41 lead. A minute later, Houghton was 1-of-2 from the foul line for a 47-41 USF advantage.

Then, Taylor hit a big three for WSU to cut the lead to 47-44 (2:25, 2^nd half). Another three from WSU's Devin Whitelow, who scored 13 points, tied the game at 49 with 33 seconds left. With the game and shot clock winding, USF's Grinde drove to the basket and was fouled with 2.4 seconds left. With his two foul shots USF took a 51-49 lead and the Warriors last second shot bounced off the back of the rim as the Cougars maintained their NSIC lead with a last-second win.