KSFY News - Sioux Falls, SD News, Weather, SportsUSF basketball sweeps Minot State on the road

Men's Recap

The men's game between the University of Sioux Falls and Minot State University mirrored the women's game. It came right down to the end, as the Cougars were able to find offense in Skyler Bloch and convert their free throws to pick up their eighth consecutive win. USF is now 11-7 and MSU drops to 3-16.

The Cougars controlled the game much of the first half and in all but one possession held a lead. USF recorded their largest lead at six for the third time following an A.J. Holland jumper near the 11:00 mark.

Led by Chris East, who had a game high 17 points in the first half, MSU heated up and went on a 12-1 run to go ahead 23-18 with 6:28 to play in the period.

USF scored the final four points of the half to make it MSU, 35-34 at the break. The Cougars entered the game 0-5 when trailing on the road at halftime this season.

Holland and Bloch combined for much of USF's offense in the first half, where they accounted for 21 of their 34 points.

USF stuck around and Bloch's jumper with 16:28 to play gave the Cougars a 44-43 lead, their first of the second period.

Yonas Behre's jumper on the ensuing possession helped the Beavers reclaim a one point lead, but it was their final of the game.

From the 10:00 mark through six minutes to play, the game was at a standstill as USF held MSU scoreless, but only converted one field goal. However, Thomas Korf's 3-pointer ended the drought and pulled the Beavers back within one with just over six to go in regulation.

USF left Korf open and he struck again, this time his deep three from the left wing tied the game at 55-55 with 3:10 to play.

As the game was coming to an end, the Cougars looked to their senior forward Bloch and he answered as he had all year, scoring five of USF's next seven points.

Bloch recorded his sixth 20+ point game of the season tonight with four straight and came up with a huge offensive rebound which he was fouled on with 52.7 ticks to go. He split the pair to make it a two possession game at 64-60.

Cutler, Holland and Maxwell followed suit and six consecutive free throws secured USF's eighth win in a row.

USF claimed another victory on the glass, outrebounding MSU 34-27. The Cougars have outrebounded each of their last 12 opponents.

Both teams shot about average. USF connected 47% of their field goal attempts, while MSU converted 42% of their tries. The difference was at the line, where the Cougars have been solid all year. Tonight they finished 22-27 (82%), as the Beavers went 12-21 (57%).

The Cougars also held a sizeable 14-6 advantage in assist but, turnovers were an issue. MSU tallied 14 points on 14 USF turnovers.

Led by Bloch, USF saw three produce double-digit scoring tonight. On 9-14 shooting from the field and a solid 5-7 effort at the free throw line, Bloch was one rebound shy of another double-double with 23 points and nine boards.

After a strong first half, Holland finished perfect at the line (4-4) for a new career high 14 points. He also added five rebounds and four assists. Maxwell chipped in 10 points to record his fourth double-digit performance this season. He finished 5-6 at the line and pulled down six rebounds.

Women's Recap

The first of two meetings with Minot State University this weekend came down to the wire, but the University of Sioux Falls prevailed. The Cougars stuck to their game plan and utilized consistent free-throw shooting and aggressive rebounding on the offensive glass to pull out a 66-62 win Friday night in Minot, N.D. USF moves to 14-2 and Minot drops to 10-9 on the year. The win marks the Cougars' first of the series, however MSU is still up 2-1 all-time.  

Right away fans could see they were in for a great show, as the two teams combined for six lead changes and four ties over the first 10 minutes of play.

Bailey Bouman flexed her deep ball muscles to put three on the board for USF with 11:45 left in the half and give the Cougars a 16-12 lead, but the Beavers were not intimidated. They knocked down four of their next five field goals, including a three point make to not only reclaim the lead, but challenge USF with one of their largest deficits this season. Morgan Klose's free throw capped an 11-0 MSU run to make it 23-16 with 8:00 to play.

The Cougars buckled down on defense, holding MSU to two field goals over the next six minutes, while USF went on a 15-6 run featuring 3-pointers by Laura Johnson, Vanessa Johnson and Holli Aggen. The Cougars 31-26 advantage would be their greatest of the game. They went to the break up, 33-30.

Neither team shot the rock particularly well in the first half. MSU did outshoot USF 40%-37% from the floor, but the Cougars used defense to create offense, as they turned 12 Beaver turnovers in for 11 points.

The second half continued to be a very close and hard fought game. Neither team extended their lead any larger than four points.

USF's shooting didn't improve in the second half, where they converted just 34% of their attempts, while MSU connected at a 50% rate. However, the Cougars continued to attack the Beavers defense and forced their way to the free throw line, where USF went 10-12 (83%), to 3-4 (75%) shooting by MSU.

The Cougars also retained their control on the boards to outrebound the Beavers 21-16 in the second half and 41-36 on the game. USF held a 17-8 advantage on the offensive end.

Jamey Hofer led the way for the Cougars with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists. She also recorded two blocks and two steals. Alyssa Rushton shot just five field goals tonight, but finished 7-8 at the line to post 13 points and six boards. Laura Johnson had a tough night from the floor where she went 2-8, but she found other ways to contribute, pulling down a game high 10 rebounds. Johnson also chipped in seven points.