MOORHEAD, MINN. – The University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball (3-3), which had a career-high 15 points from Wesley Oba and 17 points by Matt Cartwright, dropped an 83-74 nonconference decision to U-Mary (2-3) on Friday (Nov. 26) at the Microtel Thanksgiving Classic.  USF will play another nonconference game at 3 pm on Saturday (Nov. 27) against tournament host MSU Moorhead.

Cartwright led USF in scoring for a fifth straight game as he made 17 points on 6-of-17 shooting, including 5-of-11 from three-point range. Oba finished with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. In total USF had five players in double digits as Jack Thompson and Jake Kettner both scored 11 points and Chase Grinde had 10 points and seven rebounds. Thompson, had his fifth double-digit scoring game this year and 24th of his career. With 11 points, he surpassed 500 for his career and sits at 506. Grinde passed 800 career points (803) as he reached double-digits in points for the 37th time.

USF led, 36-28, at halftime but was outscored 55-38 in the second half by the Mauraders. U-Mary had a game-high 26 points from Kai Huntsberry, 16 by Kade Amundson and 14 by Jacob Jackson off the bench.

USF finished 29-of-66 from the field for 43.9 percent and made 8-of-25 from three-point range for 32 percent. In addition, USF, which was outrebounded, 37-36, hit 8-of-13 free throws for 61.5 percent. The Cougars had just nine turnovers but committed 29 fouls, losing Thompson and Oba to fouls.

Mary took advantage of USF's foul issues by hitting 25-of-31 for 80.6 for the game. The Marauders also made 25-of-53 from the field for 47.2 percent and was 8-of-22 from three-point range for 36.4 percent.

After trailing by USF, 36-24, with two minutes to play in the first half, they turned it around with a 59-38 run over the last 22 minutes of the game. Mary out-shot USF, 53.3 percent (16-of-30) to 38.7 percent (12-of-31) in the second half. In addition, U-Mary had an 18-to-8 margin at the foul line. 

While USF had a 38-to-26 margin of points in the paint, USF's 25-8 deficit at the foul line was too much to overcome. U-Mary also had a 16-to-6 advantage in points off turnovers..

Scoring Summary
In the opening half, USF built a 12-point lead (2:04, 1^st half) before taking a 36-28 advantage to halftime. USF, which hit 48.6 percent (17-of-35) from the field, had 10 points and eight rebounds from Oba. Thompson and Noah Puetz both scored six points. The Cougars, which had a 20-15 rebound edge, had just three turnovers and forced eight. USF made just 2-of-9 from three and missed its only foul shot. Mary hit 9-of-23 for 39.1 percent from the field and 3-of-9 from the three-point range. The Marauders were led by Huntsberry with seven points and stayed within eight points by making 7-of-9 from the foul line.

USF hit 7-of-12 from the field with an 8-3 rebound edge to rush out to a 15-5 lead at the 13:34 mark after Cartwright hit a jumper. Thompson gave USF an early three and consecutive baskets from Grinde pushed the lead to 7-2 at the 17:22 mark of the first half.  After a three from Kade Amudson, Oba scored inside twice, including an offensive put-back as USF put together a 6-0 run for a 13-5 margin.

U-Mary answered the run by USF by going on an 8-2 run of their own, including threes from Devon Franks and Jackson off the bench to cut the lead to 17-13 with 11 minutes to play. Kettner ended the U-Mary run with a jumper for a 19-13 lead at the 9:25 mark. After a 7-3 run by Mary cut USF's advantage to 23-20, the Cougars answered with an 11-3 run for a 34-23 lead with 3:37 to play in the half. Will Kondrat converted a lay-up with 2:04 left for a 36-24 advantage for USF, which was the biggest lead of the half.   

U-Mary opened the second half on an 8-0 run and 12-0 run going back to the 2:04 mark of the first half to tie the game at 36-36 at the 18:00 minute mark. A three from Kettner (17:44) ended the run as USF led, 39-38.  

Two foul shots and a three from Huntsberry gave U-Mary a 46-40 lead as part of an 18-4 run in the second half. The Cougars opened the half by hitting 1-of-6 from the field and U-Mary hit six straight shots.

Three-pointers from Grinde and Cartwright halted the Marauders run and helped USF draw even at 46-46 at the 14:49 mark.  After a Grinde basket with 12:20 to play, USF took a lead, 50-49 lead. Then, USF had a pair of foul shots from Oba and a three from Cartwright as the Cougars built a 56-51 margin with 9:48 to play.

With 8:16 left, Kettner scored inside as USF led, 59-53. But U-Mary had the answer and finished the game on a 30-to-15 run. After a basket from Kettner, USF took a 64-63 lead with 4:06 to play. After a USF foul, Jackson hit two free throws and Amundson converted a basket off a missed free throw for a 67-64 advantage.

Down 73-64, Cartwright dropped in a three as USF trailed, 73-67 with 1:45 to play. However, U-Mary converted 10 free throws in the final  U-Mary a 67-64 lead. Then a three from Jackson gave U-Mary a 70-64 advantage. After another three from Amundson, Cartwright hit a three pointer to cut the lead to 73-67 with 1:45 to play. Another Cartwright three draw USF within, 75-70 at the 1:07 mark. After a missed shot by Huntsberry, USF grabbed the rebound but turned the ball over with 41 seconds to play. Then, the Marauders made eight free throws to hold off USF and win for just the third time in 12 meetings with the Cougars.