×

Crushing defeat

USF hits last-second shot to sink MSU men 80-77

Photos courtesy of Sean Arbaut/Minot State athletics Minot State senior guard Nathan Mertens (14) drives the lane during the first round of the NSIC playoffs Wednesday at the MSU Dome.

Minot State thought it played perfect defense on the University of Sioux Falls’ final possession Wednesday night.

But failing to secure a rebound cost the Minot State men’s basketball team its season in a 80-77 loss to USF at the MSU Dome.

With 10 seconds remaining in the first round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament and the score tied at 77, USF coach Chris Johnson designed a play for guard Zach Wessels.

Wessels drove to the basket from the top of the key and threw up a layup attempt, but had his shot blocked by Minot guard Russ Davis. Wessels managed to recover his own rebound near the basket, and before stepping out of bounds due to a Minot State double team, lobbed a pass to the Cougars’ leading scorer in Drew Guebert. Guebert buried a 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left.

“I was a little nervous, but I play my best when I’m not thinking about it,” Guebert said. “I just let it fly and had all the confidence in the world.”

Guebert had a game-high 23 points for the Cougars and made his final three 3-pointers of the night. This had been the type of game USF had struggled to win all season, as the Cougars were 2-8 entering Wednesday in games decided by four points or fewer.

“That play wasn’t exactly how we threw it up,” Johnson said. “Zach got stuck on the baseline there and it turned into a natural play. Guys were flowing to the basketball and Drew was wide open. This could have gone either way, but I’m glad we made one last shot.”

Out of a timeout, Minot State coach Matt Murken had point guard Luis Ricci Maia run a wheel route from the baseline while senior guard Nate Mertens sent a lob his way from underneath the hoop. Ricci Maia had a look from 32-feet out for the tie, but the shot clanked off the rim, sealing the victory for USF. With the loss, Minot State remains winless in the NSIC Tournament (0-5).

“Really the story of the night was our inability to get that extra loose ball,” Murken said. “We just couldn’t secure that one rebound. I feel like if we get that rebound we have 5 or 6 seconds left and call a timeout with a chance to win the game.”

With the victory, USF (15-16) advances to the Sanford Pentagon to face Southwest Minnesota State at 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Minot State ends its season at 14-15.

The last time these two teams played on Feb. 4, Minot State defeated Sioux Falls 77-66 at the MSU Dome via 34 points by MSU forward Tyler Rudolph. The Cougars limited Rudolph this time around, holding the 6-foot-6 junior to 21 points on a 10 of 21 shooting effort.

“That’s definitely not the way we wanted to go out,” Rudolph said. “It was a good basketball game, but things just didn’t go our way at the end. We just have to use this and bounce back from it next year.”

Minot State entered Wednesday as the NSIC’s top 3-point shooting team at 42.5 percent, but only made 4-of-14 while USF made 9-of-21 shots from beyond the arc. The Beavers shot 57.7 percent from the floor, while the Cougars shot 50.8 percent from the field.

Ricci Maia finished with 16 points for Minot State and in his final game in a Beavers uniform, Mertens also chipped in 16 points.

“It is what it is at this point,” Mertens said. “We just have to move forward, nothing we can do about it now.”

Minot State will return everyone in the 2017-2018 season except Mertens, Channing Reed and Stevan Jovanovic, who plans on leaving the team after graduating in May. Next season’s goal is already set in stone: find a way to finally win a playoff game.

“I just talked to everyone after the game, I feel once you set your plan for whatever you’re attacking in life, you really have to stick to that game plan,” Murken said. “You can make adjustments along the way, but you have to stick with your core values. Ours was rebounding and diving for loose basketballs and we broke down on that so many times.

“The encouraging thing is we had so many close basketball games this year but we have to take the next step as a program and figure out how to finish those.”

Garrick Hodge covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @Garrick_Hodge

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today