KANSAS CITY, MO. – In one of the biggest wins in University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball history, the Cougars (1-1) knocked off defending NCAA DII national champion and No. 1 ranked Northwest Missouri State (2-1), 83-77 at the Central Region Challenge in Kansas City, Mo.

In the victory, the Cougars upended the No. 1 Bearcats 45-straight game-winning streak on a neutral floor.  It was the longest active win streak among all NCAA Div. I, II and III schools. The Bearcat's last loss on a neutral floor came Nov. 13, 2015, vs. Upper Iowa (L, 76-72). It is USF's first win over a top-10 opponent in the DII era.

"I thought we stayed together as a group very well today when it was going well and when it wasn't. And it paid off for us," said USF Head Coach Chris Johnson, USF's career wins leader at 239. "We played very well on both ends of the floor and received great performances from everyone who played, especially Matt Cartwright, Jack Thompson and Austin Slater. It was a really special win for us today," added Johnson.

In adding a little historical twist, the Cougars won for the first time in 81 years and in three meetings with NWMSU. The Bearcats had held a 2-0 lead with USF but had not met since 1939-40 or 81 years ago. In 1939-40 the Bearcats won 52-32 and they had a 39-27 win in the 1937-38 season.  

The win today was a significant bounce-back performance after struggling on offense in a loss to Southern Nazarene on Friday.

"These guys came out focused and worked through situations all game long," said Johnson. "It was really great to see them come up with a really big win over a really talented team," he said.

USF led from start to finish as they jumped ahead 26-9 by the 7:32 mark of the opening half. They led by 21, 60-39 in the second half before NWMSU closed to within two and the Cougars held on for an 83-77 win with crucial plays in the final minutes.
 

Senior Matt Cartwright led USF with 29 points as he made 9-of-18 field goals and was a sizzling 6-of-9 from three-point range.  He also had seven rebounds, two steals and an assist in 37 minutes on the floor. Junior guard Jack Thompson added 20 points as he was 7-of-18 from the floor and had a pair of triples to go with five assists and a steal. Senior forward Austin Slater had a solid post game and finished with seven points and five rebounds along with a block and two assists. Also, USF had nine points and seven rebounds from junior guard Chase Grinde while both sophomore guards Jake Kettner and Noah Puetz had eight points each.

Overall, USF shot 44.4 percent from the floor on 28-of-63 shooting. In that total, USF was 11-of-25 from the three-point range as they made 5-of-12 in the opening half and followed up with 6-of-13 for 46.1 percent in the second 20 minutes. At the foul line, USF was 16-of-22 for 72.7 percent. In breaking down the numbers further, the Cougars had a 16-13 advantage in points off turnovers and matched NWMSU, 16-16, in points in the paint.

NWMSU was led by Trevor Hudgins with 26 points including six three-pointers while Daniel Abreu added 17 points and Diego Bernard contributed 16 points and 12 boards. The Bearcats finished 19-of-53 for 35.8 percent from the field as they were stymied time and again by USF's defense. In addition, they hit just 9-of-34 from three-point range but stayed close by making 30-of-37 free throws. In that category, they had a 14-point margin over the Cougars.

Scoring Summary --
The Cougars, led by 12 points from Matt Cartwright, who hit 5-of-8 fields and a pair of threes in three attempts, opened up a 40-25 lead at halftime against Northwest Missouri State. The Cougars hit 16-of-36 field goals for 44.4 percent and hit 5-of-12 from the three-point range.

Defensively the Cougars held NWMSU to just 28.6 shooting on 6-of-21 from the field, which hit just 1-of-12 from three-point range. USF had a commanding 23-16 rebound edge with a 9-3 margin on offensive boards.  USF also had nine points from Thompson, who had three rebounds and an assist. Grinde added six points and four rebounds.  

Early on Puetz hit a three and Grinde a basket as the Cougars took an 8-2 lead at the 14:57 mark.  From there, USF had an 18-7 run to lead 26-9 and another basket from Grinde. The Bearcats answered with a 9-0 run to draw within 26-18. But Cartwright's three at the 3:28 mark gave USF a 33-21 advantage. After NWMSU cut the lead to 10 (35-25) at the 2:05 mark, USF closed the half on a 5-0 run with Cartwright's three with a second to play giving the Cougars a 40-25 advantage.

In the second half, The Bearcats made a run at the Cougars several times but couldn't quite get there. They had a 9-0 run to open the half after a three-point play by Abreu. The Cougars answered as Slater had a pair of baskets and Cartwright knocked in another triple for a 47-34 advantage with 14:59 to play.

From that point, USF took off on a 13-5 run to grab its largest lead of the game at 60-39 with 10:32 on the clock. Gradually, the defending champs worked back into the game. Over the next several minutes, they had a 28-13 run to draw within 73-67 when Bernard hit a pair of foul shots. By that time, USF was in foul trouble and would lose Grinde, Slater and Kettner to fouls. However, Puetz converted a lay-up with 2:39 to play for a 75-67 lead.

Again the Bearcats responded. Three free throws by Hudgins sliced the deficit to 76-73. Then, Thompson hit a huge shot for USF with a three-pointer for a 79-73 lead with 1:22 to play. A free throw, USF turnover and three by Hudgins closed the gap to 79-77 with 1:04 on the clock. When USF missed a shot and NWMSU had the rebound, they had a chance to tie. But Thompson stole the ball and with 16 seconds to play, Cartwright hit a pair of free throws for an 81-77 lead. Two foul shots by Puetz closed the scoring as USF picked up the biggest win in DII program history.