DENVER, Colo. –
Cody Kelley scored the game-winning layup with seven seconds remaining to give the South Dakota men's basketball team a 71-70 victory over Denver Wednesday night in Magness Arena.
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The Coyotes, trailing by one, didn't use a timeout on their final possession as
Triston Simpson found Kelly behind the 3-point line on the right wing. Kelley used a pump fake to get his defender in the air and drove the lane to score the game-winning basket and give South Dakota its first win in the Summit League.
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South Dakota (7-8, 1-1 Summit) held a nine-point advantage at intermission but saw Denver open the second half on a 9-0 run to knot the game at 42.
Brandon Armstrong swung the momentum back into the Coyotes favor moments later with five-straight points. He first sank a 3-point basket then followed with a jumper in the paint.
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Denver (5-12, 0-3 Summit) then went on a 13-3 run to open a 55-50 advantage at the midway point of the half. Just as the momentum appeared to be going in the Pioneers favor, the Coyotes had a five-point possession to knot the game at 55 and begin a race to the finish.
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Senior
Trey Burch-Manning was fouled while scoring on a layup. Sophomore
Stanley Umude grabbed the rebound on the ensuing free throw and kicked it out to Armstrong for his second 3-point basket of the game and the tie score. A pair of
Triston Simpson free throws on the next USD possession gave the Yotes a 57-55 lead with 9:20 showing on the clock.
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Tied at 69 with 23 seconds remaining, Ronnie Harrell Jr. converted one-of-two free throws to give Denver the one-point advantage setting up Kelley's heroics.
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Simpson, who tallied a game-high 20 points, brought the ball up the floor and accepted a ball screen from
Matt Johns with 11 seconds on the clock. After not seeing a clearing into the lane, Simpson kicked to Kelley on the right wing where his shot fake got Joe Rosga off the ground, opening the lane for his layup.
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Harrell Jr. took the final shot attempt for Denver with the clock expiring, but saw it fall short with the Coyotes securing the 71-70 victory.
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Simpson totaled his 20 points thanks to four 3-point baskets as the Coyotes sank a season-best 12 shots from long range. Burch-Manning tallied 18 points and Umude 13 points for the Coyotes, who shot 46.3 percent from the field on 25-of-54 shot attempts. Burch-Manning and Kelley each grabbed five rebounds with Kelley dishing four assists.
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Rosga, who orchestrated the Pioneers second-half rally, led Denver with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Harrell Jr., DU's leading scorer, was held to seven points on 1-of-10 shooting.
The Coyotes look to carry the momentum into Sunday's contest with South Dakota State. Tip-off from the Sanford Coyote Sports Center is slated for 3:30 p.m. The South Dakota Showdown Series presented by South Dakota Corn is a doubleheader for the first time in the Division I era with the women's game set to tip at 1 p.m. Â
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