VERMILLION, S.D. – The South Dakota men's basketball team held the Summit League's top team in terms of field goal percentage to just 32.7 percent from the field as the Coyotes topped Western Illinois 62-50 Wednesday inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
 
South Dakota scored its final 12 points at the free throw line, going 12-for-13 from the charity stripe over the final 2:17 of action.
 
South Dakota, 14-4 overall, improves to 2-0 in the Summit League for just the second time. Western Illinois, who entered the game shooting 50.5 percent from the field to rank first in the conference, falls to 8-5 overall and 0-1 in league action.
 
"Defense will always give you a chance," head coach Craig Smith said. "If you hold a Division I team to 32.7 percent shooting, you are doing something well.
 
"We competed, we didn't execute on the offensive end, but we found a way to win."
 
The Coyotes opened a 10-point lead in the opening half at 21-11 when Trey Burch-Manning hit a jump shot in the paint with 9:41 remaining. South Dakota then entered the intermission with a 35-22 advantage as Brandon Armstrong sank a fall-away 3-point basket as the buzzer sounded.

Brandon Armstrong with a buzzer-beater just before halftime ?? pic.twitter.com/1e0OFNu7gC

— Coyote Basketball (@SDCoyotesMBB) January 4, 2018

 
The second half was a different tale for USD as they scored just two points, a Tyler Hagedorn jumper, over the first eight minutes. Matt Mooney scored two of his team-high 14 points with 11:58 on the clock to give the Coyotes an 11-point lead at 39-28.
 
However, a Dalan Ancrum jumper in the paint quickly answered that basket as Western Illinois began to chip away at the South Dakota lead. The Leathernecks whittled the Coyotes' lead down to four points with 2:31 on the clock.
 
That began USD's march to the free throw line as Mooney was fouled while attempting a 3-point basket with 2:17 left in the game. He made all three attempts to give the Coyotes a 53-46 lead.
 
South Dakota, who entered the game shooting the second most free throws in the nation, had free throws made by Triston Simpson, Hagedorn and Mooney over the final two minutes of action.
 
South Dakota was able to put separation between itself and the Leathernecks to close with the final score of 62-50.
 
Mooney ended with a team-high 14 points while Burch-Manning tallied a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds. Nick Fuller added 10 points.
 
Kobe Webster led Western Illinois with 19 points as Ancrum had his own double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Leathernecks made 18-of-55 of their field goal attempts for 32.7 percent and hit just 4-of-24 3-point attempts.
 
The Coyotes forced 15 turnovers and scored 21 points off those turnovers. In the rebounding game, South Dakota had a 46-34 advantage and totaled 15 offensive rebounds, scoring 21 second chance points.
 
South Dakota closes its four-game homestand hosting North Dakota State at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Coyotes will look to avenge their only loss inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center, a 70-69 setback to the Bison last season.

Simpson goes all the way adding ?? ?? pic.twitter.com/KhwWqiwDXr

— Coyote Basketball (@SDCoyotesMBB) January 4, 2018

Mooney finds Fuller in the corner for ?? pic.twitter.com/WE7bFPF1jc

— Coyote Basketball (@SDCoyotesMBB) January 4, 2018