SIOUX FALLS – Matt Cartwright scored 32 points, including hitting the game-winning shot with 6.2 seconds left, to rally the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (5-4, 1-2 NSIC) to a gritty come-from-behind win over Wayne State (5-4, 2-1 NSIC) on Saturday at the Stewart Center.

"These guys made plays when they counted and showed tremendous grit in earning a victory today over a tough Wayne State team," said USF Head Coach Chris Johnson, who registered his 245^th career win.

"Without Jack Thompson today, we received a great game from Matt (Cartwright) and solid play from Jake Kettner and Cedric Johnson at the point plus really gritty and tough play inside from Wesley Oba, Chase Grinde and others," said Johnson, whose team will host Upper Iowa on Friday, Dec. 10 and Winona State on Saturday, Dec. 11. "We had so many contributions up and down the roster. It was a really nice bounce-back win for this group," he said.

With the victory, USF won for the 15^th time in 31 games with Wayne State and its sixth win in the last seven meetings between the two schools

It was quite a day for Cartwright, who not only had his first 30-point game at USF, but his season-high total of 32 points pushed him past 1,000 points for his career and sits at 1,006. Cartwright, who scored 17 points in the first half, helped USF rally from down, 54-40 at the 15:42 mark of the second half, to earn a win and end a two-game slide. Cartwright hit 13-of-19 field goals, including 2-of-6 from three-point range and 4-of-5 at the foul line, He added four rebounds and had a block and steal. He now has 45 career games of double-digit points with his 15th game of 20 points or more.

Forward Wesley Oba continued to play well in the middle with his second straight double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. Oba also had two blocks and two steals while hitting a triple in two attempts. In his first start at USF, Cedric Johnson came up big with his high at USF of 14 points while adding eight rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a block to his total. Chase Grinde had 10 points, five rebounds and led USF with six assists. For Grinde, he now has 39 career double-digit scoring games. Despite being hampered by fouls, Jake Kettner had nine points and three rebounds.

In the second half, Kettner hammered home a pair of triples to key a USF comeback. USF, which trailed, 42-to-37 at halftime, outscored WSC, 41-to-25 over the final 14:18 to earn the win. In a game with eight lead changes and six ties, USF used a 17-of-12 advantage in second-chance points and a 17-to-12 margin in points off turnovers to earn its first NSIC win of the season.

The Cougars, which had a 36-to-25 rebound edge, hit 31-of-60 field goals for 51.7 percent and made 7-of-21 from three-point range while connecting on 12-of-17 foul shots. The Cougars shared the basketball as they had 20 assists on their 31 made baskets.

The Wildcats, which had 29 points from Justin Eagins and 23 points and eight rebounds from Jordan Janssen, hit 31-of-57 from the field for 54.4 percent and was 8-of-17 from three-point range. WSC hit 9-of-14 foul shots.

Scoring Summary -

In the opening 20 minutes, both teams were hitting shots at a high rate. Wayne State, which had 18 points from Justin Eagins (7-of-10 FG, 4-of-6 on 3s), hit 17-of-32 field goals for 53.1 percent and held a 14-13 rebound edge. USF converted 17-of-29 shots for 58.6 percent from the field. However, USF was just 27.3 percent (3-of-11) at the three-point arc and did not shoot a foul shot. Led by five assists from Grinde and three by Johnson, the Cougars had 12 assists on the 17 baskets.

On the first possession, Cartwright scored off an assist from Jake Kettner for an early lead. But WSC quickly answered with five straight points and a 5-2 lead. Janssen scored inside with "and 1" to give WSC a 10-6 lead at the 15:02 mark. Another Janssen basket provided the Wildcats with a 14-6 lead with 13:21 to play. Off the bench, Marko Coudreau ended USF's three-minute scoring drought to draw USF within 14-8 at 12:19. Then, USF had more bench support as forward Will Kondrat scored twice to draw the Cougars within, 16-12, with 11 to play. 

WSC had a basket from Eagins at the 3:44 mark to take a 32-24 lead but USF rallied as Grinde and Cartwright had baskets to cut the deficit to 32-30 at the 2:14 mark. However, the Wildcats continued to push the issue on offense and with a basket from Janssen inside with just a second to play took a 42-37 lead to the break. 

The second half proved to be similar to the opening 20 minutes with both teams making runs. The Wildcats, which made 14-of-25 shots for 56 percent in the half, opened on a 12-3 run for a 54-40 advantage before the Cougars answered. With a run of 10 straight points, including a pair of triples from Kettner and a dunk by Oba, USF drew within 54-50 with 12:50 to play.

Key to USF's second-half resurgence was in its gritty play, as Johnson noted.

"We kept battling for the ball on the boards, on defense, and by going to the floor. With that type of grit, we stayed close with important second-chance points," he said.

In the second half alone, USF had a 15-to-6 advantage in second-chance points and a 23-11 margin in rebounds. Of that 23 rebounds, USF grabbed 10 off the offensive glass.

After Cartwright knocked in a pair of free throws, the Cougars trailed just 58-56 at the 9:50 mark. Then, Cartwright canned a three at the 9:10 mark to pull USF within, 60-59. Just moments later, Oba tied the game at 62 off an assist from Johnson. Cartwright's driving lay-up gave USF a one-point lead at 68-66 with 6:17 on the clock.

The game continued to feature more up and downturns at each end. Up one, two foul shots by Cartwright with 53.5 to play in the game provided the Cougars with a 79-76 lead. However, WSC's Janssen had a three-point play to knot the score at 79. 

After Oba snared an offensive rebound with 23 seconds to go, USF called timeout to set up the game-winning jumper by Cartwright with 6.2 seconds left. In a half that featured plenty of offense, a blocked clinched the game for USF. Oba got a piece of Alec Millender's three-pointer attempt in the final seconds and the Cougars had its fifth win of the season.