VERMILLION, S.D. – Western Illinois used a 16-0 run late in the second half to top the South Dakota men's basketball team 65-59 Saturday afternoon inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
 
The Leathernecks (8-13, 3-5 Summit), who trailed 50-39 with 10:52 remaining in the game, opened a 55-50 lead before Triston Simpson was able to get the Coyotes back on the scoreboard with a layup.
 
South Dakota (9-12, 3-5 Summit) knotted the game at 55-all on a 3-point basket from the hands of Cody Kelley with 3:14 on the clock. Both teams then traded 1-of-2 free throws for the seventh, and final, tie of the game.
 
Kobe Webster knocked in the go-ahead bucket for WIU with just under two minutes to play and the Coyotes were unable to complete the late comeback in the loss.
 
South Dakota held the largest lead of the game, a 12-point advantage, on a Tyler Peterson layup early in the second half. To get to the 38-26 score, USD used a 9-0 run spanning the end of the first half into the second half. The run used six points from Tyler Peterson, all points in the paint, and had a 3-point basket from Kelley.
 
Simpson totaled a game-high 17 points and was joined in double-digit scoring by Trey Burch-Manning with 14 points. Peterson tied a career-high with 12 rebounds. Simpson added six rebounds, playing all 40 minutes for the third time this year.
 
Ben Pyle tallied a double-double for Western Illinois with 15 points and 10 rebounds as Webster added 13 points.
 
South Dakota heads back on the road for a Wednesday contest at Purdue Fort Wayne. Tip-off from Fort Wayne, Indiana, is slated for 6 p.m. (CST).