MARSHALL, Minn. – With three players in double-digits, led by junior Chase Grinde with 16, the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (7-4, 5-4 NSIC South) rallied to earn a 61-52 NSIC South Division win over Southwest Minnesota State (2-8, 0-6 NSIC) on Saturday at the R/A Facility on the SMSU campus. 

With the victory, USF ended a three-game slide and kept the Cougars in contention for a NSIC Sanford-Health Tournament postseason berth. However, USF remains just out of the top four spots awarded to teams based on record and winning percentage. Augustana edged Wayne State, 60-57, at the Pentagon, as the Vikings stand 7-5 and .583 percent or just ahead of USF at 5-4 and .556. The Cougars will play tomorrow at noon in Marshall, Minn., to try to move to 6-4 and 8-4 overall. AU and WSC will also play at noon at the Pentagon as the postseason field will be determined by the outcomes.

"I was pleased with the way we battled today and all this season really," said USF Head Coach Chris Johnson, who recorded the 224^th win of his career at USF and has 240 overall. "We had some really solid efforts from Chase (Grinde), Troy (Houghton) and Tessy (Teathloach Pal), who was limited in the first half due to foul troubles. Now we have to come back tomorrow and try to put together another solid performance," he said.

While USF trailed, 33-30, at halftime, they outscored the home-standing Mustangs, 31-19, in the second half to earn the win and guarantee themselves a fourth straight winning season.

Leading USF's offensive attack was Grinde, who had 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting and 2-of-5 from three-point range. Grinde, who had his 34^th career double-digit scoring game, also had three rebounds, two assists and a steal. Houghton had his 13^th career-double-digit scoring game after scoring 14 points with four assists and four rebounds. He made 5-of-12 shots from the field and was 4-of-4 at the foul line.

Senior Teathloach Pal, who will play his final regular season game with USF on Sunday, continued to be one of the top forwards in the league after totaling 13 points with nine rebounds, and a steal. Despite play just 24 minutes, he hit 5-of-7 field goals and all three of his free throws. Pal now has 34 career double-digit scoring games and 748 career points with 710 career rebounds.

Senior Austin Slater also had a solid performance with five points and game-high 10 rebounds with an assist and a steal. Slater, who had five offensive boards, now has 10 double-digit rebound games. Also for USF, Wesley Oba had seven points and six rebounds.

This outcome between the Cougars and Mustangs was in large part determined by USF's domination of the boards. The Cougars had a 44-26 advantage overall and held a 15-to-5 margin in offensive rebounds. With the board domination, USF had a 14-to-3 margin in second chance points and put together a 32-to-20 advantage in paint points. In addition, Houghton helped USF hold a commanding 27-to-10 margin in bench points.

Overall, USF was 21-of-55 for 38.2 percent from the field as they improved to 43.5 percent (10-of-23) in the second half after opening at 34.4 percent (11-of-32) in the opening 20 minutes. However, USF was just 3-of-14 from three-point range but with a 16-to-8 edge in free throws had another advantage over SMSU. As for the Mustangs, they made 19-of-50 field goals for 38 percent but converted just 6-of-24 from three-point range. Coming into the game, the Mustangs had the league's top percentage average from three-point range at 41.3 percent and averaged 8.2 made threes per game. USF's defense limited SMSU to 25 percent from three and two made goals below their average.

Breakdown – USF rallies in second half
Early in the game, SMSU took an 8-4 lead after threes from Grant Kramer and Dufault, who finished the game with 16 points. The early lead held up as SMSU led, 33-30, at the half despite three lead changes. In the first half, USF struggled from the field as they made just 11-of-32 field goals for 34.4 percent and just 1-of-9 from three-point range. USF, which made 7-of-8 from the foul line, stayed in the game with a 26-to-12 rebound advantage and five steals. SMSU was 14-of-29 for 48.3 percent from the field and hit 4-of-12 from three-point range, which provided the difference after 20 minutes.

After that early surge from SMSU, USF had baskets from Houghton and free throws by Grinde to tie the game at 8-8 with 15:23 to play. Later, Marko Coudreau scored inside as USF led, 12-11, with 14:22 to play. With a three from Oba, the Cougars took a 15-13 lead at the 13-minute mark. Later, Slater converted inside off an offensive rebound as the Cougars trailed 29-26 with 2:12 to play.  In the final seconds of the first half, USF had two foul shots from Oba, who finished the half with seven points, to draw USF within 33-30.

USF used a fast start in the second half to gain control. In the opening five minutes of the second half, USF had a 9-2 run to grab a 39-35 advantage after a three-point play from Pal. After a basket from Jack Thompson and another by Pal scored inside again and the Cougars took a 45-35 advantage with just under 13 minutes to go.

 A three-point field goal from Cliff McCray pulled SMSU within 45-38 with eight minutes left on the clock. After SMSU drew within five points, Grinde scored on a lay-up for a 47-40 lead with 6:16 to play. A three-point field goal from Dufault pulled SMSU within three and then the team traded free throws. With 2:42 to play, Pal scored inside for a 55-50 advantage. Then, USF put the game away with a 6-0 run for a 61-50 lead – its largest of the game – with 23 seconds to play.