GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The South Dakota men's basketball team built a lead as large as 17 points and held off a North Dakota comeback attempt in a 70-56 win inside Betty Englestad Sioux Center Wednesday night.
 
Using a balanced scoring attack, juniors Triston Simpson and Brandon Armstrong totaled 13 points each while sophomore Stanley Umude tallied 12 points. The Coyotes saw the return of senior Trey Burch-Manning, who missed four games due to a foot injury, as he totaled nine points and eight rebounds.
 
The win improves the Coyotes to 9-11 on the season and 3-4 in Summit League action. North Dakota falls to 8-13, 2-6.
 
The Coyotes used an 8-0 run to take a 7-4 advantage to 15-4 in the opening minutes. The 8-0 run came completely from points in the paint. Simpson tallied four of the points in the run with Cody Kelley and Umude each adding a bucket.
 
The first-half lead grew to 13 points on a dunk from Burch-Manning when he faked a hand-off and turned to the baseline for the two-handed jam before entering intermission ahead 32-20.

Savvy move by the veteran indeed! ??#GoYotes pic.twitter.com/yWEXDslfIt

— Coyote Basketball (@SDCoyotesMBB) January 24, 2019

 
The lead grew to 17 points when Burch-Manning scored on a jumper for the 41-24 lead with 13:48 remaining in the game.
 
The Fighting Hawks slowly chewed away at the Coyote lead, using a 23-12 run to get within six points at 53-47 with 5:29 remaining. Marlon Stewart tallied 11 of UND's points in the run, as part of his game-high 22.

Triston Simpson takes it ?? to the basket with the assist from Tyler Peterson! #WeAreSouthDakota pic.twitter.com/Jx8PkDNbky

— Coyote Basketball (@SDCoyotesMBB) January 24, 2019

 
Simpson turned the fortune back in the Coyotes' favor with a layup while the USD defense held the lead around the eight-point mark for the next three minutes. Following a missed Fighting Hawk 3-point basket, Simpson sank a 3-point basket to push USD's lead to 12 points at 66-54 with just over a minute to play.

Triston Simpson with a big triple for the Yotes as we approach one-minute to play! #WeAreSouthDakota #GoYotes pic.twitter.com/LBZ4FlmYb0

— Coyote Basketball (@SDCoyotesMBB) January 24, 2019

 
The long-range shot proved to be the finishing touch en route to the 70-56 win. South Dakota's defense held UND to just four points over the final four minutes of the game.
 
South Dakota knocked down 25-of-53 shot attempts for 47.2 percent and held the rebound edge at 34-30.
 
The contest was the first meeting between the programs since March 12, 2011, the championship game of the Great West Conference Tournament.
 
South Dakota makes its long-awaited return to the Sanford Coyote Sports Center on Saturday hosting Western Illinois at 3:30 p.m. To purchase tickets, contact the USD Ticket Office at 605-677-5959 or go to GoYotes.com/Tickets.