Vermillion, S.D. - Senior forward Tyler Cain scored a career-high 34 points to guide the
University of South Dakota men's basketball team to a hard-fought 85-79 overtime victory over Texas-Pan American Thursday night in the DakotaDome.
Cain (Rochester, Minn.) finished 13-of-17 from the field and also added 17 rebounds for his 12th double-double of 2009-10 and 34th of his career for the Coyotes, who won for the ninth straight time and improved to 18-9 overall and 9-1 in the Great West. Freshman guard Jake Thomas (Racine, Wis.) added 13 points for USD, while junior guard Kendall Cutler (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds along with seven assists.
Cain hit the game-tying shot with 17 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime after USD trailed 66-64 in the final minute.
Cutler converted a three-point play to push USD up 69-66 with 4:35 left in overtime. UTPA battled back to take a 70-69 lead, but Cain answered with a critical three-point play to give the Coyotes a 72-70 lead.
Cain's three-point play was part of a 10-2 Coyote run that helped USD build a 79-72 lead. Senior Roman Gentry (Sioux City, Iowa) hit 4-of-4 free throws in the final minute, while Thomas hit 3-of-4 to help USD ice the win.
After leading by two at halftime, USD saw itself trailing 41-38 with 16:02 left before a 12-4 run pushed USD in front 50-45. Cain sparked that surge with eight points, including two dunks, as USD regained the lead. UTPA (4-26, 3-8 GWC) fought back to tie the game at 58-58 and the game stayed close for the rest of regulation.
USD opened the game on a 6-0 run in the first 2:39, thanks to two points each from Steve Smith, Jake Thomas and Tyler Cain. However, UTPA fought back with a 20-8 run over the next minutes to build a 20-14 lead with 10 minutes left in the half.
USD started out cold from the field, hitting just six of their first 24 attempts (25 percent). The Coyotes hit their next four shots, however, and tied the game at 24-24 with 4:41 left in the half. The Coyotes regained the lead at 28-27 after Cain hit two free throws with 3:30 left in the half. USD a 33-31 lead into halftime, thanks to a putback by Mitchell Bouie in the final minute.
Cain had 12 points and six rebounds in the first half for USD, while Bouie had eight off the bench. USD's shooting, after a cold start, ended at 38.7 percent for the half as USD hit six of their last seven attempts.
USD resumes action on Saturday at home against Houston Baptist in a game that will decide the Great West Conference regular-season champion. Game time is 8 p.m. at the DakotaDome.
