Box Score

VERMILLION, S.D.--South Dakota junior guard Casey Kasperbauer scored 18 points as the Coyotes upended defending Summit League champion North Dakota State 71-67 Wednesday night inside the DakotaDome to move into a tie for first place in the league standings.

The Coyotes (9-9, 3-1 Summit) have won three in a row and six of their last seven to reach the .500 mark for the first time this season. It was USD's first win in the series since 2004. South Dakota takes on South Dakota State (12-7, 3-2) Saturday in Brookings.

North Dakota State (11-6, 3-1) had won 12 consecutive games against Summit League opponents dating back to last season and brought a season-best five-game winning streak to Vermillion.

South Dakota's Tyler Larson recorded his eighth double-double of the season, registering 10 points and a career-best 14 rebounds. His offensive board and put back in the paint broke a 63-63 tie with a minute remaining. Teammate Trey Norris made two free throws with 37 seconds left that made it 67-63. Brandon Bos made four free throws in the final 13 seconds to seal the win for the Coyotes.

Lawrence Alexander made a layup as time expired to finish with a game-high 20 points for the Bison. He was 7 of 21 from the field and 2 of 9 from three-point range. Kory Brown and Carlin Dupree added 15 and 12 points, respectively. Both had seven rebounds.

Bos finished 7 of 7 from the line and South Dakota was 24 of 27 from the stripe compared to 6 of 9 for North Dakota State. Bos had 12 points. Norris had 10 points, three assists and three steals.

Kasperbauer made 7 of 10 shots and was 4 of 5 from beyond the arc. He is 21 of 32 from downtown in his last five games (65 percent). Kasperbauer's first trey tied the game at 16 after the Bison had jumped out to an 8-0 advantage. His fourth trey came at the 12:28 mark of the second half and gave South Dakota its largest lead at 47-39.

North Dakota used a 7-0 run capped by a fastbreak layup by Alexander to take a 61-60 lead with 3:15 to go. Larson was fouled on the ensuing possession and made both free throws to put USD back in front by a 62-61. Brown scored and was fouled in the paint with two minutes left. He missed the free throw and the Bison led 63-62.

D.J. Davis, who logged 19 minutes off the Coyote bench, made the front end of a pair of free throws with 1:23 remaining that tied the game at 63. He missed the second, but NDSU couldn't secure the rebound and USD was granted an extra possession. Davis was 5 of 6 from the line and also had four rebounds.

Bos missed a three-point try from the top of the key, but Larson skied for his fifth offensive board of the game and immediately went back up to score the go-ahead basket.

NDSU had two chances to tie or take the lead trailing 67-65 in the final 30 seconds. Alexander missed a contested try near the rim, but the rebound went out of bounds and back to the Bison. Alexander in bounded to Dupree who threw it back to Alexander before he could establish himself back into the field of play resulting in a turnover. Bos' free throws followed.

South Dakota was playing at home for the sixth time in 18 games. The Coyotes' next three are on the road starting with the Jacks Saturday at 4:30 p.m.