Box Score March 9, 2013
Final Stats
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.--South Dakota center Trevor Gruis earned his second double-double of the season (12 points, 12 rebounds) and scored his 1,000th career point, but it was Western Illinois who advanced with a 54-53 win against the Coyotes in the first round of the Summit League Tournament Saturday at Sioux Falls Arena.
It was South Dakota's third loss of the season to Western and second in eight days. The three losses were by a combined five points.
The difference for the Leathernecks in all three matchups was senior guard Ceola Clark, who has averaged 12 points both this season and during his 123-game career, but had three 20-point efforts against the `Yotes this year. Clark had a game-high 21 points in this one, including 11 consecutive Western points during a 13-2 run that flipped the script down the stretch.
South Dakota had just taken its largest lead at 39-33 on a Brandon Bos 3-pointer with nine minutes to go. A deep, shot-clock beating 3-pointer by Clark with 4:48 gave Western its first lead of the half at 42-41. Two free throws and a fast-break layup by Adam Link capped the run and made it 46-41 with 3:55 left.
Three-pointers were tough to come by in this one, but Jack Houpt delivered the dagger moments later with a 3 from the wing that gave Western its largest lead, 50-44, with 2:19 to go. The Necks were 5 of 13 from long range. USD was 4 of 15.
South Dakota never got an opportunity to tie it as Remy Roberts-Burnett's break-away dunk with 19 seconds left made it 54-48. Coyote guard Juevol Myles hit a 3 with 0.2 seconds left, but it wasn't enough.
Myles led the Coyotes with 14 points, three assists and a steal. Gruis' 12 rebounds were a season high and he stands with 1,001 career points. His final score came on an emphatic reverse slam with 3:30 to go made it 46-43. It was one of many highlight-reel plays for the Coyotes.
South Dakota led 25-21 at halftime thanks in part to a seven-point first half by freshman Tyler Flack. His first points came on a one-handed slam in the opening minutes. He put two hands on a dunk when Gruis broke a double team and found Flack wide open on the weak side. Gruis had two first-half assists. Flack finished with seven points, three boards, a block and two steals.
Fellow frosh Casey Kasperbauer was blanketed by Clark for much of the night, but scored the first points of each half. He hit a 16-foot jumper on the game's opening possession and converted a well-placed bounce pass from Bos with a left-handed layup that drew an early Western timeout to begin the second half. Kasperbauer had six points.
Western Illinois shot 61 percent in the second half to erase its halftime deficit. Clark was the only Neck to score in double figures. WIU had six steals in the second half after forcing just two Coyote turnovers in the first.
Bos had eight points, eight rebounds and three assists in his first start since an injury kept him out of the lineup for two games. The Coyotes shot 36 percent from the field (18 of 49) and were 13 of 18 from the free-throw line.
South Dakota head coach Dave Boots
"Another hard fought game with them. Ceola (Clark) made a couple big plays. His three with the shot clock winding down was really big. Give them credit, they got another tight ball game over us."
on what happened in the last couple minutes when WIU took control
"We needed to make some shots, we had a couple turnovers, we missed a couple free throws in there. You can nitpick it. But our kids played hard. I was pretty proud of our team this game."
on losing several close games this year and whether it is the result of inexperience
"Outside of Trevor, all these guys are first- or second-year guys. This year outside of the North Dakota State, I think we were really competitive. Seven close losses. We're close. We're making (progress), this was a good experience for us. We played independent for four years. We played in the Great West two years. Last year, we went through The Summit (regular season). Now, we've been in the (Summit) tourney. We've been through everything now. We got to get back in that gym. The players know their weaknesses. I don't need to spell it out there for them."
South Dakota guard Brandon Bos
on three closes loses to WIU this season
"Unfortunately for us, we came up short each time, but I don't think we should hang our heads."
on WIU's run in the last five minutes
"I thought we did a good job of battling through it. We didn't let them run away with anything."
on what they take out of this tournament
"Any time you lose by one, that's something to motivate us. We got our feet wet. I think we played pretty well."
South Dakota center Trevor Gruis
on losing to Western Illinois again
"It was particularly frustrating tonight because it was do or die. Hats off to them. They made the plays down the stretch. It's frustrating for us. I hate to see those guys walk away with a W. It's just hard to walk away with a loss when we played so hard.
on responding to WIU's three posts
"I'm used to those guys rolling people in on me. I leave it to coach if I need a break. I could have been fresher. I played the whole game. I don't think that's a factor with how I played. I've done that the whole year."
on the tournament experiences impact on the team for next year
"We lose a couple great seniors in Jordan (Boots) and Juevol (Myles), but we've got a lot of guys coming back and we've got to get back to work. We've got to remember it to motivate us. Next year is a new year."
