KSFY News - Sioux Falls, SD News, Weather, SportsUSF basketball teams finish off Minot State Saturday

Men's Recap

Behind another 20 point night from senior forward Skyler Bloch and 62% shooting in the second half, the University of Sioux Falls men's basketball team cruised to a 73-59 victory over Minot State University Saturday night in Minot, N.D. The win marks their ninth straight and puts USF at 12-7 on the year, while MSU falls to 3-17.

Bloch got to business right away, scoring USF's first two points of the game. Minutes later he decided to display his range, as A.J. Holland found the big man spotted up for a 3-pointer that made it 8-5, MSU.

Over the next 10 minutes the game went back and forth, but neither team could maintain much of a lead.

Following two Matt Yale free throws, the Beavers were up 28-25 with 4:55 to play in the half, but the Cougars would make a push and close the half on a 10-0 run to carry a 35-28 lead into the break.

Chris East's jumper to open the second half made it a two possession game, but USF, led by two big buckets from David Maxwell, surged for a quick 6-0 run to stretch their lead back to double digits. MSU trailed 46-35 with 13:53 to play.

Next, Bloch would pick up where left off, scoring nine points over the next five minutes to help the Cougars reach their largest lead at 17 points (57-40) with just over nine minutes to play.

The Beavers took advantage of a few big USF turnovers and turned things around with a 9-2 run, making for a 59-49 game with 6:09 left in regulation.

However, 10 was as close as MSU would come, as USF went ahead by as many as 16 in the final minutes before claiming a 73-59 win in Minot, N.D.

USF shot the ball well tonight, connecting at a 55% rate, while limiting MSU to 39% shooting. Both teams had strong performances at the line, where the Cougars made 19 of 21 (90.5%) to better a 72% (18-25) showing by the Beavers.

Women's Recap

Less than 24 hours removed from a four point win, the Cougars made it look easier the second time around, as they tied up the overall series (2-2) with a 61-53 win Saturday afternoon in Minot, N.D. USF has won its last eight on the road and improve to 15-2 with the win, while MSU drops to 10-10 this season.

MSU began the game with a 6-0 run to claim an early lead, which was their largest of the game. The Cougars received a quick six points on back to back 3-pointers from Holli Aggen and tied things up near the 17 minutes mark.

Aggen continued to scorch the Beavers, as USF kept a three point cushion for several minutes of the first half. But Carly Boag and MSU came to play and three consecutive jumpers from Boag gave the Beavers a 21-18 lead with 8:40 left in the first half.

USF went back to their bread and butter, the three point shot. First it was Aggen with another trey ball, then Laura Johnson got into the mix and knocked down a big 3-pointer to give the Cougars a 24-21 lead. USF would stretch their lead to five with 3:51 to go, but head to the locker room up, 34-30.

The Cougars came out the break hot, scoring the first 13 points of the second period and Alyssa Rushton's jumper with 14:28 to play gave USF a commanding 43-30 advantage. However, MSU was not going to go away. A couple of jumpers from by Sacarra Molina and Christina Boag pulled the Beavers back within seven points near the 10 minute mark.

Seven points is as close as MSU would get. USF stretched their lead to as many as 15 points before recording an eight point win at Minot State University.

MSU outshot USF for the second night straight, shooting 43% from the field, compared to 37% shooting by the Cougars, but the difference was three point shooting, where USF went 8-23 (35%), while the Beavers finished 1-13 (8%) from deep.

USF also beat MSU in second chance points, 13-6 and although it wasn't their best shooting night they converted 15 foul shots, while MSU made just six.

There were three starters in double figures for the Cougars. After a strong first half, Aggen finished 4-7 from behind the arc and 8-13 from the field to score a career high 23 points. Rushton had another solid performance. She was perfect at the line (4-4) and made 2-3 attempts from downtown to post 12 points. Laura Johnson shot 40% (4-10) from the field and 50% (1-2) from behind the arc to finish with 11 points. Johnson and Rushton each added five rebounds.