MINOT, N.D.  – Drew Guebert knocked home a game-winning three pointer with 2.8 seconds to play, lifting the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (15-16) to a dramatic 80-77 victory over Minot State (14-15) in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Sanford Health Tournament opening round before 1,087 in the Minot State Dome on Wednesday night.

"This is a great win for our team and program. After so many tough losses, this one really feels great. These guys battled all night and believed that they would win," said USF head men's basketball coach Chris Johnson, whose team won an opening road game for the second straight season.

In fact, the Cougars scored 80 points in the opening round for the second straight year. In 2015-16, USF defeated Minnesota-Duluth, 80-74 at Duluth, Minn., to advance to the quarterfinals against top seed Augustana. Now, the Cougars will again meet the tournament's #1 seed in the NSIC South in Southwest Minnesota State (23-5) at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday at the Sanford Pentagon. SMSU has defeated USF twice by a combined three points (87-86 at the Stewart Center and 74-72 at the RA Facility in Marshall, Minn.).

On Wednesday night, the Cougars shot the ball effectively (51 percent) and won the rebound battle in a big way, 33-21. But the savior on this night was Guebert, a sophomore from Apple Valley, Minn., who was on fire in the second half, scoring 16 of his team-high 23 points. Including the game-winner, the first of his young career, Guebert hit six-of-11 from distance. Those three-pointers enabled him to move into second place on USF's all-time seasonal three-point chart with 74, as he passed teammate Mack Johnson (72, 2015-16) and Nathan Unruh (72, 1995-96).  In addition, he now ranks 10th on USF's career 3-point chart with 133.

With the game tied at 77, junior guard Zach Wessels drove into the teeth of the Minot State defense, had his shot blocked by Russ Davis but alertly grabbed the blocked shot and bounced a pass to Guebert on the right perimeter. Guebert's shot was pure as he made his fifth three of the half, touching nothing but net.

"Give Zach (Wessels), credit, he never gave up the play," said Guebert, who believes he plays best when he lets his instincts flow. "When I got the ball, my thoughts were just to let it fly. Really, I believe I play my best when I don't think about the situation," he said.

For Guebert, the victory in the postseason provided a little vindication in a season when the Cougars have lost eight of 10 decisions decided by four points or less.

"I couldn't be prouder of my teammates, we were able to grind through it and get a big win," said Guebert about the game, which included eight ties and three lead changes.

As Johnson noted, the Cougars simply didn't believe they were going to lose. "They continued to scrap out there. We were down early but we kept working and getting contributions from across the board," noted Johnson, who added to his all-time wins record at USF with #156.

USF, which led by 10 points in the first half and held a 37-31 halftime lead, were outscored by MISU, 30-17, in the opening 10:24 of the second half. The run gave MISU a 61-54 lead (9:36).  However, USF rallied, outscoring the Beavers, 26-to-16 down the stretch.

As noted, the second-half run was ignited by Guebert, who knocked down a three on the ensuing possession after MISU took their seven-point lead. USF eventually worked into a tie at 68 when Mack Johnson hit a pair of free throws. The final five minutes was defined by one side making a big shot only to be matched at the other end. It was simply tournament basketball at its finest.

With 4:04 to play, Guebert connected for the go-ahead three which was matched by one from Tyler Rudolph (3:43). Then, Guebert knocked home another triple for a 74-71 lead with 2:43 to go.

Two free throws by Luis Ricci Maia cut the lead to one with 2:23 to play before Guebert made 1-of-2 free throws for a 75-73 lead. Again, the Beavers had the answer as Nathan Mertens' driving lay-up with 1:11 to play tied the game. M. Johnson made a jumper which was answered by two free throws from Ricci Maia and a tie game at 77 and 27 seconds to play. At that point, USF, the #5 seed from the South, melted the clock under 10 seconds when Wessels drove to the right side. His pass to Guebert turned into the winning refrain of the evening for the Cougars' which advanced to the NSIC tourney quarterfinals for the second straight time. For Minot State, the loss was a bitter pill hard to swallow for the North #4 seed as they hosted their first ever tournament game.

Aside from Guebert, USF placed four others in double digits, including Wessels, who had 14 points, four assists and three rebounds. M. Johnson added 13 points and six assists as he moved into seventh on USF's all-time career scoring list with 1,634 points (Herb Buckner, 1,633, 1966-70).  Senior forward Daniel Hurtt added 12 points and six rebounds as he passed 700 career points. Junior forward Tom Aase played a key role off the bench with 12 points, hitting 6-of-8 shots from the floor, He also had three rebounds and his 130th career blocked shot. Kebu Johnson had a game-high nine rebounds.

Key to USF's victory was its decided edge on the boards, limiting its turnovers and holding Rudolph to 21 points and seven rebounds. While those numbers nearly match his season averages, USF's defense on the MISU big man was is significant because of what happened last time the team squared off. Rudolph had 34 points and 12 rebounds in the Beavers 77-66 win on Feb. 4. 

For the sixth time in nine games, the Cougars picked up a win when they made more than 50 percent from the field. USF hit 30-of-59 field goals for 50.8 percent, including 9-of-21 from three point range for 42.9 percent as well as 11-of-12 from the foul stripe. In addition, the Cougars committed just nine turnovers, just about three below their season average of 11.4.

As for Minot State, they also had five players in double digits, including Rudolph. In addition, but Luis Ricci Maia had 16 points and four assists while Mertens had 16 points and seven assists. The Beavers hit 30-of-52 from the field for 57.7 percent but hit just 4-of-14 from three point range.

First Half -
After a slow start and some early foul issues, USF put together an 8-4 run to overcome an early six point deficit (8-2, 15:30) to tie the game at 12-12 on a three pointer by Hurtt, who had seven points in the half. Off the bench, Aase provided a lift as he hit a jumper (10:20) as the clock was  winding down for a 14-12 lead. USF increased the lead to 8-12 when M. Johnson fed Guebert inside as the Cougars led 22-17 with 8:33 on the clock. After Guebert dialed up a triple with 1:54 to play, the Cougars led, 35-25. 

Minot State, which received 10 first-half points from Tyler Rudolph, battled back within six points, 37-31, at halftime. Leading USF was the Austin, Minn., duo of Aase and Wessels, who both had eight points as the two combined for 7-of-7 from the field. Guebert added seven points and five rebounds while M. Johnson had five points and four assists.

The Cougars shot the ball well in the opening 20 minutes, hitting 16-of-29 field goals for 55.2 percent. USF, which had a 17-9 advantage on the boards, had three blocks, including a pair from Guebert. MSU also shot the ball well, hitting 13-of-24 for 54.2 percent. The two teams combined for four triples with USF gets threes from Hurtt, Guebert and Johnson.

Second half -
Out of the half, Minot State with four straight points to close the gap to 37-35 with 18:37 to play.  Off a steal, M. Johnson ended the run with a dunk and a 39-35 lead. After Minot closed to 41-40, Guebert knocked down a three for a 44-40 lead with 16:20 to play. After a three-point play by Ricci Maia, the Beavers tied the score at 46 with 15 minutes to play.  After Minot State took a 54-50 lead, Wessels converted two free throws to keep Cougars within two at the 11:06 mark.

A three-pointer by Russ Davis provided MSU a 61-54 lead with 9:29 to play. With the momentum clearly on the Beavers' side, Guebert answered immediately as he led the way for USF's 26-16 game-closing run. As a result, the Cougars rallied to win on the road and improve their all-time series lead over MISU to 8-2.  And, more importantly kept their season alive.