St. Paul, Minn. - The University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball team defeated Concordia-St. Paul 76-67. USF moves to 11-10 and 9-8 in NSIC play. 

The Cougars and Golden Bears played a very tight first half. CSP took the opening period 38-37 with Concordia shooting 48% from the field and 50% from behind the arc. USF was able to hang tight despite shooting 40% from the field and only 22% from the 3 point line. Noah Puetz had 12 points in the first half to pace the Cougars. 

The second half was more of the same between CSP and USF. The Cougars were able to hit a few more big shots down the stretch to pull away just enough to get the win. The Coo won the 2nd half 39-29 thanks to 46% shooting from the field and 57% from 3-point range. USF turned up the intensity of defense and held the Golden Bears to 32% shooting from the field and 16% from the 3-point line. USF had 44 points in the paint compared to 28 for CSP. The Golden Bears won the rebounding battle 41-38 but USF had 14 second chance points. 

LEADERS

The Cougars were led by Noah Puetz who had 19 points. Shawn Warrior added 16 and Jack Thompson chipped in 11. Josh Baker had a career high 9 points as well. 

Josh Baker and Zane Alm led USF in rebounding with 8 each.  Warrior added 7 boards and Puetz chipped in 6. 

Noah Puetz paced USF in assists with 4 on the night. Warrior added 3 and Jake Kettner added 2 assists as well. Warrior and Puetz each had 2 steals and both played a game high 36 minutes with Thompson playing 35 minutes. 

UP NEXT

The Cougars will be back in action tomorrow against Minnesota Duluth. Tip off is at 5:30PM in Duluth, Minn. 

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