SIOUX FALLS – The USF Men's Basketball team battled back from an 11-point deficit to defeat Wayne State and improve to 6-2 on the season. A late heads-up steal by
Matt Cartwright sealed the Cougars comeback victory.
WHAT HAPPENED
- USF trailed by 5 at half while shooting 34.6% from the field
- Wayne State held their largest lead of the game (11 points) with under 14 minutes to play
- A pair of Matt Cartwright free throws tied the game with 6:28 to play
- Noah Puetz drained a 3-pointer with less than 5 minutes to play to give the Cougars their first lead since the 8:43 mark in the first half
- Wayne State controlled the ball, down 2, with 21 seconds to play but Matt Cartwright batted a pass without looking and ended up with a steal that effectively sealed the Cougars victory
SIOUX FALLS LEADERS
- Matt Cartwright picked up his seventh 20-point game of the season and 19th of his career as he led the Cougars with 21 points on the night.
- Jack Thompson and Conner Jackson also posted solid nights with 9 and 8 points respectively.
- Chase Grinde snagged 8 rebounds while scoring the 2nd most points for the Cougars with 12.
TEAM STATISTICS
- USF won the battle on the boards by out rebounding Wayne State 36-29 with 26 defensive and 10 offensive.
- Sioux Falls edged the Wildcats in overall field goal percentage (40.7%-39.3%) but easily outshot them from behind the arc (36.4%-18.8%)
- As a team USF dished 18 assists with Jack Thompson accounting for 6 of them
- The Cougars shot 46.4%and outscored Wayne State by 10 in the second half
UP NEXT
Sioux Falls (6-2) will head down the street to take on rival Augustana for their first meeting of the season this Saturday, December 3rd. The Women tip-off at 3:30 followed by the Men at 5:30.
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