SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (USF PR) – After the best regular season in the program’s DII history, the winning continued in the post season for the University of Sioux Falls, which used 20 points from sophomore guard Chase Grinde and double-digits by four others to turn back Minot State, 79-68, in the opening round of the NSIC Sanford Health Tournament at the Stewart Center on Wednesday night.
The Cougars (22-7) advance to face Minnesota State on Saturday at 5:30 pm in the tournament quarterfinals at the Sanford Pentagon. USF has a league-best five straight opening round victories and defeated MiSU for a third time in the league’s postseason tourney.
The victory helped keep USF’s NCAA Tournament hopes alive. The Cougars came into the night No. 10 in the latest Central Region Rankings. The top 8 teams from the region will play in the 8-team regional tourney and the field will be announced on Sunday, March 8. USF could gain an automatic bid into the field by winning the NSIC Tourney.
As for Wednesday…
“We scored it early but they made a bunch of shots. We tightened it up defensively and got our tough early start turned around,” said USF Head Coach Chris Johnson, whose team is now 5-6 in NSIC Tournament play. “We had a good night overall. We had a lot of contributions with five guys in double-digits. Our defense was solid after their fast start. It is always tough to end another team’s season,” he said.
Grinde, who lef USF in scoring all season (12.8 ppg) had a solid performance and now has 21 career games, including 14 straight, in double-digits. He reached 20 points in a game for the fourth time of his career as he made 6-of-10 field goals and was 4-of-6 from three. A Spring Grove, Minn., native, Grinde also hit 4-of-5 free throws, had four rebounds and dished a career-best eight dimes.
A junior forward from Andover, Minn., Slater also came up big for USF with 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists and only had one turnovers in 26 minutes on the floor. He made 9-of-10 free throws as the Cougars knocked down 20-of-29 for 69 percent. Three others also reached double-digits in points as freshman Jack Thompson, forward Teathloach Pal and guard Troy Houghton each scored 10 points.
Houghton was 4-of-6 from the floor and had three rebounds and an assist. Pal, who had a game-high eight rebounds and registered a career-high four steals, hit 4-of-6 field goals. As for Thompson, he hit 4-of-8 field goals, had two rebounds and three assists in a solid floor game for USF.
USF, which led by 12 with 2:23 to play in the second half (71-59), took a 37-34 lead at the break and outscored MiSU, 42-34, over the final 20 minutes. The Cougars once again had a solid shooting second half to put a game away.
The Cougars hit 58.3 percent from the floor on 14-of-24 shooting and converted 3-of-7 from three and 11-of-14 at the foul line. It was the difference as MiSU hit 12-of-25 shots for 48 percent but were just 6-of-18 from three in the second half.
USF has used its second half prowess to earn victories time and again. The Cougars are averaging 48.3 percent from the field in the second half, which is six percentage points better than their first half average of 42.5 percent. USF is also making 39.3 percent from three which is over 8.5 percent better than their first half average. At 38.1 points per game in the second half, USF is nearly seven points better than their first half average of 31.4.
Overall, the Cougars knocked down 26-of-51 percent from the field as they surpassed 50 percent shooting for the 10th time (8-2 record when shooting 50 percent or better). USF knocked down 7-of-22 threes for 31.8 percent and held a 33-20 rebound margin. This year, they have won the rebound battle in 26-of-29 games.
Af other factors helped USF advance. The team shared the ball with a season-high 18 assists on 26 made baskets. Also USF had just 11 turnovers and with nine steals were able to create a 21-11 margin in points from turnovers. With USF’s size and strength, they also had the edge inside with a 28-22 margin in points in the paint. The rebound differential enabled USF to hold a 11-2 margin in second chance points.
With Trevon Adams (eight points) and Devin Green (seven points) providing major contributions off the bench, USF had a 16-5 margin over the visitors.
MSU, which led 20-13 in the first half, had a game-high 28 points from Kyle Beisch, who was 10-of-19 from the floor and made four triples. They also had 15 points from Trevor Rothstein, who hammered home 3-of-6 from three. Overall, they hit 50 percent on 25-of-50 shooting and hit 11-of-29 threes for 37.9 percent.
