Sioux Falls, S.D. - The University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball team fell to #1 seeded Minnesota State 78-64. This was a quarterfinal game that took place at the Sanford Pentagon as part of the NSIC Men's Basketball Tournament. The Cougars finished the year 13-17 overall and 9-13 in conference play. 

The Cougars came out ready to play. They won the opening period 34-29 thanks to some good shooting on offense and stifling defense. USF shot 41% from the field and 33% from the 3 point line. The Cougar defense held the high powered Mavericks in check as they held MSU to 30% shooting from the field and 2-10 from the 3 point line. The largest lead for either team was 9 by USF in the first half.

In the second half the Mavericks showed why they are ranked #3 in the nation. The game was tied at 40 at the 17:31 mark in the 2nd half and then MSU went on a 23-5 run to make it 63-45 by the 8:37 mark. Mankato won the second half 49-30 thanks to shooting 59% from the field and 58% from the 3 point line. The Cougars struggled to find their footing on offense in the 2nd period as they shot 38% from the field and 37% from the 3 point line. USF had 30 points in the paint and 25 bench points while MSU had 34 points in the paint, 22 points off of Cougar turnovers, and took the rebounding battle 37-36. 

LEADERS

Noah Puetz paced the Cougars in scoring with 21 points on 9-17 shooting from the field. Kyle Ingwerson added 13 from off the bench and Jack Thompson chipped in 10 points. 

Shawn Warrior led USF in rebounding with 7 boards. Creighton Morisch added 5 and Puetz, Ingwerson, and Josh Baker each chipped in 4 rebounds. 

Jack Thompson was the table setter for the Cougars as he tallied 5 assists. Warrior added 3 and Ingwerson had 2 assists as well. Thompson also had a game high 3 steals and played a game high 38 minutes.   

UP NEXT

USF Men's Basketball would like to thank all of Cougar Nation for their continued support throughout this season. Go Coo!