SACRAMENTO, Calif.—South Dakota freshman Dan Jech came off the bench to score a season-high 22 points on 9 of 10 shooting to lead the Coyotes to a 96-90 win against Sacramento State Saturday at The Nest.
 
It was the third win in four games for South Dakota (3-3), which earned its first true road win of the season. Sacramento State (4-1) lost in a bid for its first 5-0 start and lost at home for the third time in 18 games dating back to last season. The Hornets entered play having beaten Arizona State and defending Big West Champion UC Davis this season.
 
Jech, whose previous season high was 13 points at Kansas State, made his first eight shots and finished 4 for 4 from beyond the arc. His final bucket was a 3-pointer with 3:38 left that gave South Dakota an 85-81 lead.
 
"I thought both Dan and Tyler Hagedorn had great games, and probably their best games of their careers at USD" said Coyote Head Coach Craig Smith. "Dan's a good shooter and we know he can do that. He did a great job on their big guys, who didn't hurt us a whole lot, and he altered some shots too."
 
Tre Burnette converted a three-point play on the Coyotes' next possession to complete an 8-0 run that made it 88-81 with three minutes left. Burnette scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his second double-double in five games. He also handed out a career-high five assists.
 
Sacramento State got within two points twice down the stretch, but South Dakota point guard Shy McClelland answered once with a layup, and Burnette rebounded his own missed free throw with 33 seconds left. Casey Kasperbauer was fouled and hit one of two to make it 92-88.
 
Cody Demps missed a 3-pointer for the Hornets and Trey Norris rebounded for South Dakota. McClelland made two free throws with eight seconds left to secure the win.
 
"We showed a lot of resolve tonight and had a lot of great performances by a lot of different guys," said Smith. "To come into this gym and its tight surroundings, I mean the West Gym at the Dome really prepared us to play here."
 
Behind Jech, the Coyotes made 12 of 19 three-pointers and shot a season-best 54 percent from the field (35 of 65). In addition to Jech and Burnette, South Dakota got 15 points and six assists from McClelland and 13 points and four assists from Kasperbauer.
 
"They mix up their defense nonstop, so the key for us was to not turn it over," said Smith. "Sometimes their best offense is their defense and we only had three turnovers at halftime and eight for the game and we knew that was the number one stat going in."
 
Both teams had 24 assists and scored 13 points off turnovers. Demps led Sacramento State with 19 points and had 11 assists with no turnovers. Justin Strings added 17 points on 7 of 11 shooting. Dreon Barlett scored 14 points and Nick Hornsby and Eric Stuteville chipped in 12 points apiece.
 
South Dakota will compete at The Nest again at 4:30 p.m. CT Sunday against Eastern Washington (2-2).