SIOUX FALLS -- Chase Grinde and Teathloach Pal each scored 18 points but short-handed (RV) University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (6-4, 4-4 NSIC) dropped a 75-66 decision to Augustana (8-5, 6-5 NSIC), 75-66 in NSIC South Division play on Sat., Feb. 13 in the Stewart Center. 

In his final home game, Pal had 18 points, three blocks and two rebounds despite being limited by foul trouble and 28 minutes on the floor. On Senior Night, Pal, who hit 8-of-13 field goals and knocked in a triple along with a pair of dunks, surpassed 700 rebounds for his career (701) and now ranks ninth all-time at USF. With his 18 points, he now has 33 double-digit scoring games in his career. 

As for Grinde, he hit 6-of-14 shots from the field, including a pair of threes as he had a season high in points. He added six rebounds and three assists. Junior Marko Coudreau came off the bench for his first double-digit game with 10 points as he too hit a pair of triples. In his first career start, freshman John Henry, who stepped in for sophomore guard Jack Thompson's who string of 27 straight starts ended, had seven points, three rebounds, and four assists in his 26 minutes on the court.

Redshirt Freshman Jake Kettner made his second career start for the Cougars tonight, adding three points, six assists, and one rebound. Kettner knocked down just one of his four three point attempts in his 33 minutes. 

In a back-and-forth contest, the Vikings, which was led by 21 points from Dylan Lebrun, led 33-30 at halftime before outscoring USF, 42-36 in the final 20 minutes.  As a result, USF fell to fifth in the NSIC South standings at 4-4 while the Vikings are fourth at 6-5. However, in the jumbled NSIC South, six teams are separated by just two games with two games left in the regular season. USF, which is tied with Winona State at 4-4 for fifth, will go to Southwest Minnesota State for two games next weekend to close out the regular season.

In a game with 10 ties and eight lead changes, the Vikings held an overall edge in shooting, 47.5 percent (28-of-59) to 39.7 percent (27-of-68) for USF. While USF made seven threes to five for Augustana, the Vikings also had a 9-to-5 advantage in free throws. USF also lost the rebound battle, 36-34, for the second straight games and was just by fouls with four players reaching four by the game's end. 

USF, which dropped its third straight game, now trail Augustana, 40-37, in the all-time series. USF, the league's top offensive rebound unit, had a 16-to-11 advantage which led to an 11-6 margin in second chance points. The two teams, which both had 36 points in the paint, broke even in most stat categories but AU's 21-18 edge in bench points and 7-5 margin in fast break points provided the visitors with a slight edge. 

USF, which led for 8:48 vs. 24.50 by Augustana, led by five at 43-38 with 13:55 to play. However, the Vikings were able to erase the deficit and used a 6-0 game-closing run to earn its second straight win this weekend over USF.

 USF vs AU Breakdown 
 
In the early going, USF and Augustana traded baskets and Grinde's three gave USF a 5-4 lead at with just under 18 minutes to play. At the 10:17 mark, Henry hit a lay-up as the Cougars drew within 15-11 of the Vikings. Troy Houghton's drive to the basket and conversion enabled USF to pull within 19-18 at the 6:59 mark. 

However, the Vikings scored two straight baskets for a 23-18 lead before Jack Cartwright's jumper kept USF within 23-20 at the 5:56 point. USF and AU traded a few baskets until Coudreau knocked down another three for the Cougars, cutting AU's lead 30-27 1:33 to go in the half. Pal hit another three for USF, tying the game up at 30-30 with 1:01 to go in the first half. Michael Schaefer scored the last points of the half at the 0:40 mark, to give AU a 33-30 lead going into halftime. 

In the second half, USF came out of the locker room strong, with Austin Slater putting in an early jumper for the Cougars at 19:19 mark, cutting AU's lead 33-32. USF and AU traded a couple baskets until Pal slammed down a dunk for the Cougars at the 15:54 mark, followed by a three from Henry to take the lead, 41-38 with 15:09 to go in the game. 

The Vikings countered with back-to-back threes from Tyler Riemersma, who had a double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds) and Isaac Fink to cut the Cougars lead to one, 45-44, with 12:42 to go in the game. At the 11:36 mark, Pal slammed another dunk down for the Cougars to keep a two-point lead, 49-47. Schaefer had a layup for AU to tie the game at 49-49 with 10:50 to go. 

After USF fell down 69-62, they scored four straight points to pull within, 69-66, with 2:02 to plan following Henry's two free throws. But unfortunately, the Cougars were unable to keep the offense going and the Vikings close on a 6-0 run to earn the win.