MANKATO, Minn. – No. 19 University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (4-1, 2-1 NSIC South), which had not played since January 9, had a bit of rustiness in dropping a 90-59 decision to Minnesota State (7-2, 6-1 NSIC South) on Saturday night (Jan. 30) at the Taylor Center of the Bresnan Arena.

USF's last game was an 87-76 home win over U-Mary on Jan. 9 at the Stewart Center. Since then, the Cougars had two straight weekends of basketball canceled due to CoVID-19 protocols. Then, against Minnesota State, USF struggled shooting from the field as they played their first road game of the season. With the loss, MSU takes over the lead in the NSIC South at 6-1 and USF falls into second place at 2-1.

USF was led by redshirt freshman Wesley Oba with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting. He also had eight rebounds to tie senior forward Teathloach Pal with the team high. Oba tied his career-season best and reached double digits for the second time at USF. Junior guard Chase Grinde reached double digits with 10 points before fouling out. For Grinde, it was his 31st career double-digit scoring game.

As noted, the Cougars struggled from the field, a problem that followed them all night. In the first half, they hit just 9-of-29 field goals for 31 percent and missed all seven three-point attempts. In the second half, the Cougars hit just 10-of-36 field goals for 27.8 percent and was 1-of-8 from three-point range. USF's made 20-of-29 free throws for 69 percent which helped them stay close for awhile but MSU had a big second half (55 points) as they pulled away. Overall, USF was 19-of-66 for 28.8 percent and made just 1-of-16 three pointers. On the plus side, USF had a 45-43 edge on the boards to win the rebound battle for a fifth straight game. As part of that board work, the Cougars owned a 19-to-8 offensive board advantage.

At halftime, USF trailed 35-27 but had led the Mavericks, 17-15, with 10:04 to play in the first half. From there on, MSU controlled the game and had its biggest lead of 32 at 88-56 with 2:18 to play in the second half. The Mavericks outscored USF, 55-32, in the second half. It was the most points allowed by USF in a second half since a 100-65 setback to Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 13, 2019 (58).

Quincy Anderson had 21 points to lead MSU, which also had 17 from Ryland Holt. While USF was rusty from the field, MSU was hot. The Mavericks hit 32-of-64 field goals for 50 percent. A key difference in the outcome was MSU's domination at the three-point line as they had an 11-of-1 edge, which breaks down to 33-3 advantage. Overall, MSU was 11-of-26 for 42.3 percent from three and also made 15-of-19 free throws for 78.9 percent.

Breakdown – By Half
In the opening half, USF use a rebound edge (22-17) and free throws (9-to-2) to offset a tough shooting performance and trailed, 35-27 at the break. USF hit just 9-of-29 field goals for 31 percent while MSU was 14-of-29 (48.3 percent) including 5-of-12 (41.7 percent) from three-point range. USF failed to make a triple in seven attempts in the opening 20 minutes. USF was led by Grinde who had six points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field. Pal and  Oba each had six rebounds.

With a dunk shot from Oba (15:56) after Troy Houghton scored five early points, USF pulled within, 10-9 of MSU. Malik Willingham knocked in a three (14:54) to give MSU a 13-9 advantage. At the 11:10 mark, USF drew even with MSU at 15 on a Jack Thompson basket.  At 10:04 USF led, 17-15, when Thompson hit a jumper but MSU answered with a triple from Devonte Thedford for an 18-17 advantage.

MSU pushed the lead back to 25-17 after a triple from Holt and a basket from Landon Wolf at the 6:21 mark. After USF cut MSU's margin to 30-25, Quincy Anderson, who led all scorers with 11 points in the opening half, knocked in a three as MSU led, 33-25 at the 2:15 mark. 

In the opening three minutes of the second half, MSU used a 14-4 run to push their lead to 49-31 at the 16:52 mark. Austin Slater's jumper (16:36) dropped the lead to 16 but the momentum was all MSU as Anderson made three foul shots and MSU led, 54-33. Later, Oba converted a three-point play at the 14:51 mark to cut MSU's advantage to 56-37. But every time USF tried to rally, MSU seemingly had the answer. After a Jake Kettner jumper, Anderson scored for MSU for a 60-41 lead with 13 minutes to play.

With 12:24 left, Willingham knocked in a three for a 63-41 advantage. After 11 straight misses from three, Marko Coudreau hit from deep as USF trailed, 63-44 (11:39).  After that, the lead grew as USF lost Grinde to fouls and the Cougars just couldn't get shots to fall.