Box Score

VERMILLION, S.D.--Denver senior guard Brett Olson scored 22 of his game-high 27 points in the first half and the Pioneers held South Dakota to 18 second-half points in a 66-48 victory Wednesday inside the DakotaDome.

The win avenged Denver's 74-69 loss to the Coyotes back on Jan. 4 and it ended South Dakota's season-best four-game winning streak. The Coyotes (15-15, 8-7 Summit) host South Dakota State at 4 p.m. Saturday in the regular season finale.

The Summit's Preseason Player of the Year, Olson made 9 of 13 shots including 7 of 10 three-pointers. He tied his season high in points and triples and finished three shy of his career high of 30 set against South Dakota last season.

Denver (12-16, 6-9) made 10 of its first 11 shots and scored on 10 consecutive possessions to jump out to a 24-7 lead eight minutes into the contest. Olson had four buckets for 11 points by that point. He made the first five shots he took and was 8 of 10 from the field in the first half.

South Dakota drew within five points, 32-27, on a Brandon Bos layup with 2:06 to go in the half. Denver went on to lead 37-30 at the break.

It took 13 minutes for South Dakota register 10 points in the second half. By that point, Denver had extended its lead to 56-40. The Pioneers shot 64 percent from the field for the game (25-39) compared to 33 percent shooting for South Dakota (18-54). The Coyotes, who had made 22 three-pointers in their last two games, made 2 of 15 attempts Wednesday.

Tyler Larson scored 13 points and had seven rebounds to lead South Dakota. He was the only Coyote to score in double figures. Tre Burnette finished with eight points, seven boards and two blocked shots.