SIOUX FALLS – The University of Sioux Falls Men’s Basketball Team has come a long way since the opening day of the season.
The Cougars, picked to finish 10th in the NSIC preseason poll, wrapped up the South Division title with a 75-64 victory over Wayne State on Saturday night at the Stewart Center.With the victory, USF swept Wayne State for a second straight year as they won the NSIC South Division by two games over Upper Iowa.
At 17-5, USF recorded its best mark in the NSIC since joining the league. At 21-7, USF has 20 wins for the second time at the DII level with the best overall season.USF Head Coach Chris Johnson, who won his 216th game at USF, was really proud of his team.
“We wanted to finish it (South Division title) off after having a couple of opportunities. And, we were led by our two seniors Milan (Surlic) and Devin (Green). To win a South Division title for the first time was a big deal, especially for our seniors,” said Johnson, whose team will face Minot State in the first round of the NSIC Postseason Tourney at home with game time set for 7:30 pm on Wednesday (Feb. 26).
“We had 25 points from the two seniors off the bench. They were awesome tonight and I was so happy for those guys. It was their final regular season game, title on the line and both played as well as they have played all year,” said Johnson.
The seniors, who were honored in a pre-game Senior Day ceremony, are representative of the team that is USF, noted Johnson, who called his team tough and resilient.
“I think we are defined by our toughness and hard work. We are not the most gifted offensive team in the league but we will battle. We will rebound and we will defend. And, I think what is special is how they feel about each other. They stay together. They love to play together and through that can handle any adversity,” he said.
In the win over WSC, the Cougars opened up a 33-28 halftime lead and used a 42-36 margin in the second half to pick up the 75-64 win. USF, which was 29-of-58 from the floor for 50 percent, has been a hard team to beat in the second half. Tonight, they hit 15-of-29 field goals for 51.7 percent. And with 5-of-10 from three they finished 9-of-21 for 42.9 percent with those percentages above their season averages.
By limiting WSC to 64 points, the Cougars, the league’s top defensive team, held the visitors to under the season average of 66.9.To illuminate the second half analogy, the Cougars totals for the second half better their overall average in a substantial way. During the league season, USF has made 49.8 percent from the floor (45.4 overall) and held opponents to 43.6 percent in the second 20 minutes of games.
They also connected on 39.4 from three (33.3 overall) and had a 4.1 rebound margin. And, USF is outscoring opponents by over six points (3.9 margin of victory) in the second half.Surlic, who reached double-digits in points for the eighth time in his career and fourth time this year, made 5-of-8 shots from the field and was 2-of-5 from three-point range. He added two rebounds to his 12 points in 20 minutes on the floor. Green had 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting as he made his only three. He added four rebounds, an assist and a block as he had double-digit points for the 15 time as a USF player. As for Thompson, he now has 13 double-digit scoring games and scored 18 or more on six occasions. He was 7-of-13 from the field with 4-of-9 from three-point range. Grinde reached double-digits for the 19th time this year including his final 13 games this season.As for WSC, they were led by Jordan Janssen with 19 points and eight rebounds.
WSU hit 25-of-46 for 54.3 percent. From three-point range, they were 6-of-13 for 46.2 percent.While both teams had 34 points in the paint, USF’s defense was the key to the win. They forced 14 turnovers, which led to a 16-to-9 margin on points off turnovers. USF also had a 30-to-24 rebound edge as they won the board battle for the 25th time in 28 games. That advantage led to a 14-to-4 margin in second chance points. And, with Green and Surlic doing the damage, they had a 25-to-9 advantage in bench points.
