ST. PAUL, MINN. – Led by sophomore guard Jack Thompson with 17 points and 12 from redshirt freshman Jake Kettner, the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (7-6, 3-4 NSIC) closed 2021 with a road win in an 80-69 decision over Concordia St. Paul (1-12, 0-7 NSIC) at the Gangelhoff Center Saturday.

Overall, USF, despite missing two starters, had a balanced attack with 10 players putting points on the board and eight players scoring six or more. With the victory, USF moves to 3-4 in the NSIC and 7-6 overall.

"We had very balanced scoring and some big plays from a group of players including Luke Healy, Austin Olson, Mason Steele and Noah Puetz off the bench," said USF Head Coach Chris Johnson, who recorded his 100^th career win in the NSIC and now has 247 career wins with 231 at USF. "In addition, Jack Thompson played every second of the game and was outstanding tonight. Our strength on the boards and limited turnovers helped us pick up an important win," said Johnson.

Thompson was 6-of-15 from the field and 5-of-5 at the foul line while grabbing seven rebounds, dishing five dimes, recording two steals and a career-best three blocks in 40 minutes. For Thompson, he recorded his eighth double-digit scoring game this season and the 27^th of his career.  Kettner had his sixth double-digit scoring game of his career as he had four field goals in 12 shots with a pair of three-pointers to go with four rebounds, an assist and a steal.

USF also had six points and nine rebounds from junior Chase Grinde. Freshman guard Luke Healy added nine points as did junior forward Will Kondrat, who grabbed four rebounds in his second start. In the game, Austin Olson had a career-high six points and made his first two three-pointers of the season and his career.

The Cougars had a 20-10 run in the first half to move to a 38-25 lead before extending the margin to 46-28 at the half-time break. CSP outscored USF, 41-34, in the second half but the Cougars maintained a double-digit lead for most half in defeating the Golden Bears for a ninth straight time dating to 2017.

For the game, the Cougars hit 26-of-66 shots for 39.4 percent with 6-of-19 from three-point range for 31.6 percent. USF, which made 22-of-27 free throws for 81.5 percent, dominated the boards at a 47-30 margin and committed just 10 turnovers. The Cougars also shared the ball with 16 assists on 26 made baskets. USF had five steals and four blocks as they were able to apply defensive pressure on the Golden Bears throughout the game.

While CSP had a 42-to-36 advantage of points in the paint, USF's rebounding led to a 19-to-6 margin in second-chance points. 
CSP, which was led by 21 points from Jacob Everson, hit on 26-of-55 shots for 47.3 percent but were just 3-of-18 from three-point range and 14-of-28 for 50 percent at the foul line. CSP also had 16 points and eight rebounds from Elijah Ormiston.

Scoring Summary –
In the opening half, the Cougars broke from an 18-15 lead with 10 minutes to play and had a 20-10 run for a 38-25 advantage at the three-minute mark. With Austin Olson (six points) and Mason Steele (four points, three rebounds) coming off the bench with big contributions, USF closed on an 8-3 run as USF led, 46-28 at the half. In the opening half, USF was 15-of-32 from the field for 46.9 percent. They hit 3-of-8 from three-point range and was 13-of-16 from the foul line for 81.3 percent.

USF had a 26-13 margin on the boards and a 22-10 advantage with points in the paint as well as a 12-to-4 margin in second-chance baskets. USF placed 10 players in the scorebook and five (Kettner, Jack Thompson, Will Kondrat, Luke Healy and Steele) had at least six points in the opening half.

USF opened the scoring as Grinde hit a pair of foul shots (19:18) for the 2-0 advantage. At 15:11, Kettner's jumper provided the Cougars with an 8-4 lead.  After a CSP three from Everson, who led CSP with 16 points in the half, Noah Puetz hit a jumper for a 10-7 lead at the 14:24 to play.

Up three, Healy, who had six points in the half, converted a lay-up, and with "and 1" USF moved to a 21-15 advantage (8:36).   Then, Olson entered the game and knocked down a pair of triples with the second providing the Cougars with a 37-25 advantage. Jack Thompson's driving lay-up moved the lead to 40-26 (2:35, 1^st half) before Steele scored inside and converted two foul shots as the USF built the advantage to 18 (46-28) at the break.   
 
The Golden Bears opened the second half on an 8-3 run and cut USF's lead to 49-36 at the 17:30 mark.  USF's Austin Slater, who had eight points and six rebounds on the night, converted inside and USF took a 53-39 lead with 15:12 to play.

The Golden Bears scored four straight to draw within 53-43 at the 14:19 mark. Then Slater hit a pair of foul shots for a 55-43 advantage (14:00, 2^nd half). With 11:56 to play, Grinde made two foul shots for a 57-45 lead.  

After CSP cut the lead to 59-52, Thompson converted two straight jumpers as USF took a 63-52 lead with 8:10 to play and after "and 1" gave USF a 64-52 lead.  jumper at the 8:45 mark for a 61-52 lead. Later, Luke Healy's three-point provided USF with a 72-60 lead at the 5:13 mark.  CSP cut the lead to 10 at 74-64 (2:57) but USF had baskets from Thompson and Puetz to push the lead back to 14 and the game was in hand.