WAYNE, NEB. – No. 22 University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball (6-2, 4-2 NSIC) had a tough shooting afternoon and dropped a 71-46 decision to Wayne State (7-5, 7-3 NSIC) on Saturday at Rice Auditorium.

The Cougars hit just 31.5 percent from the field for the game as they made 16-of-51 shots from the field. In addition, USF was 5-of-16 from three for 31.3 percent. For the first time this year, USF lost the rebound battle, 34-27. For the second straight game, USF was led by senior forward Teathloach Pal with 11 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots.

With the victory by Wayne State and one by Minnesota State today, USF fell to third place in the NSIC South but just percentage points behind those two squads. At 4-2, USF is at .667 while MSU and WSC have .700 winning percentage on 7-3 records.

While USF struggled shooting all day, the Wildcats came out hot and road that opening streak to a win. On their home floor, they shot 67 percent (16-of-24) in the first half and 54.2 percent (26-of-48) overall to earn the victory. The win by the Wildcats snapped USF's five-game series winning streak, dating to a 78-64 WSC decision on Feb. 10, 2018, also at Rice Auditorium. WSC placed three players in double-digits including Jay Sanders and Jordan Janssen with 11. Justin Eagins led all players with 11 rebounds.

The Wildcats, which made 9-of-19 three-pointers, including their first six of the game, outscored USF, 45-26, in the first half and 26-20 in the second 20 minutes of play.  The Wildcats had a 22-19 edge in bench points and also won the battle inside, 22-18. While USF had a 12-6 margin in second chance points, WSC took advantage of turnovers for an 11-9 edge. Mostly, USF's issues was tough shooting and the inability to get enough stops on defense.

"Clearly we struggled from the field and we will take this and get back to work," said USF Head Coach Chris Johnson, who team returns home to host Augustana on Feb. 12-13 at the Stewart Center. "We had a solid start but give Wayne State credit, they made shots today and that was the difference," he said.

Breakdown
In the opening half, USF took an early 7-2 lead but after that, the Wildcats controlled action by making shots and controlling the boards. WSC hit 16-of-24 field goals for 66.7 percent and was 6-of-10 from three-point range. USF, which was outrebounded, 15-11, was just 10-of-28 for 35.7 percent. USF hit 5-of-10 from three-point range but shot just two foul shots while the Wildcats made seven.

Pal knocked down a three and converted inside baskets on consecutive trips as Cougars jumped to 7-2 lead (18:21). But WSC responded with a pair of threes from Saunders, who led WSC with nine points and four assists in the half, and two foul shots from Janssen to take a 10-7 lead (17:00).  USF's Jack Thompson knocked home a three as USF tied the game at 10-10.

After Thompson's basket, WSC responded with a 9-3 run to take a 19-13 advantage with 12:58 to play. That run was part of an opening salvo from the Wildcats that included making 7-of-9 field goals (3-of-3) from three-point range.  At 11:32 of the first half, USF's John Henry knocked in a three as USF drew within, 21-16. Unfortunately that was as close as USF would get for the remainder of the game.

WSC scored five straight and Alec Millender's three provided the Wildcats with a 26-16 lead (9:46). Saunders then hit WSC's fifth straight three for a 31-18 lead (8:21). Troy Houghton's free throw (7:11) and lay-up from Pal cut WSC's lead to 31-21 but Nate Thayer answered with a three for a 34-21 lead as the Wildcats made their sixth straight triple.  Then, USF was outscored 11-5 over the last four minutes and trailed, 45-26, at the halftime break.  

USF opened the second half on a 6-0 run but Nate Mohr's three kept the score at 48-32 with 16:35 to play.  After a Thompson free throw, USF trailed 53-35 with 11 minutes to play.

USF's shooting woes continued by making just 3-of-12 (25 percent) to open the second half. It kept the Cougars from any kind of sustained rally. With another three from Nate Mohr, WSC pushed the lead back to 21. While Jaxon Simons made a three later in the half, USF still trailed, 62-39, and finished with just seven more points in the final 5:54 to suffer its second loss of the season. After making 10-of-28 for 35.7 percent in the opening half, USF was 6-of-23 for 26.1 percent in the final 20 minutes. And, the Cougars didn't make a three-pointer.