SIOUX FALLS, S.D. --- A dominant second half proved to be the difference Saturday afternoon at the Sanford Pentagon as #3 Minnesota State scored 49 points in the second half to upend Sioux Falls 78-64 in the second round of the NSIC Tournament.

With the win, MSU improves to 27-2. With the loss, USF ends its season with a 13-17 record. The Mavericks will now take on the winner of the game between Southwest Minnesota State and Minot State in the semifinals on Monday at 11:00 a.m. at the Sanford Pentagon.

The early going saw the Cougars jump out a 7-4 lead four minutes in. The Mavericks then responded with a pair of back-to-back threes from Kyreese Willingham and Elijah Hazekamp to put MSU up 10-7. The game would remain within one score for the next six minutes with the Mavericks holding an 18-17 lead.

The Cougars then put together a 12-2 run over the next 3:13 to take a 29-20 lead with 4:48 to go in the half. The Mavericks managed to chip away at USF's lead in the final 4:48 of the game as they outscored the Cougars 9-5 in the closing minutes of the half to bring the halftime score to 34-29 in favor of USF.

Kyreese Willingham led all scorers in the first half with 15 points as he connected on 7-of-9 shots from the field. As a team, MSU shot 30.0% from the field in the first half, to go along with a 9-of-10 showing from the free throw line.

Noah Puetz led the Cougars with nine points in the first half, while Kyle Ingwerson tallied eight points. As a team, USF shot 41.9% from the field in the first half.

The Mavericks wasted no time jumping back in front as they opened the half outscoring the Cougars 13-6 in the first 3:09 to go up 42-40. Malik Willingham netted all 13 of MSU's points during the first three minutes. MSU continued to build its lead over the next 7:44 as it scored 21 points to USF's five to go up 63-45 with 8:37 remaining.

Minnesota State would hold its double-digit lead the rest of the way as the Mavericks claimed the 78-64 win.

Malik Willingham finished with a season-high 33 points, 31 of which came in the second half. Malik Willingham connected on 7-of-12 (.588) shots from behind the three point line, while passing out six assists. Kyreese Willingham recorded 22 points and four rebounds.

Dylan Peeters notched his fifth double-double of the season as he tallied 11 points, seven of which came at the free throw line, along with 12 rebounds.

As a team, MSU shot 45.2%28-of-62) from the field, including a 9-of-22 (.409) showing from downtown. The Mavericks also hauled in 37 rebounds and scored 22 points off of 12 USF turnovers. In the second half, MSU shot 59.4% from the field.

Puetz led the Cougars with 21 points and four rebounds, while Ingwerson notched 13 points.

As a team, USF shot 40.3% from the field, including a 7-of-20 (.350) performance from downtown.