VERMILLION, S.D. – Tyler Hagedorn and Stanley Umude each scored 18 points as South Dakota defeated Concordia-St. Paul 72-61 in an exhibition game inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center on Saturday evening.
 
Hagedorn, in his return after missing the entire 2018-19 season due to injury, finished 5-of-12 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free throw line, while Umude was 7-for-11 from the field and made all four of his free throws.
 
Brandon Armstrong rounded out the Coyote trio in double figures with 13 points after connecting twice from beyond the arc off the bench. George Scharlau was the lone player for the Golden Bears in double figures, notching 10 points on the night.
 
Freshman Kruz Perrott-Hunt drew the start in his first appearance inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center, and senior Cody Kelley posted a well-rounded line of six points, seven rebounds and six assists across 35 minutes.
 
As a team, South Dakota shot 49 percent (25-of-51) from the floor and was efficient at the charity stripe, hitting 18 of its 22 chances (81.8 percent). The difference maker for the Coyotes came in the turnover department; South Dakota forced 23 giveaways and converted those into 31 points while turning over the ball just nine times.
 
Neither side could gain much separation until midway through the first half, when the Coyotes opened up a nine-point edge, 19-10, after a Tyler Peterson layup at the 10:16 mark. The Golden Bears fired right back, however, using a 9-1 run over the next three minutes to trim South Dakota's lead to just one point with just over seven minutes remaining until the halftime break.
 
Six straight points by the Coyotes staved off the small rally from Concordia-St. Paul, and South Dakota rebuilt its nine-point edge on Hagedorn's jumper just before the horn to carry a 35-26 lead into the locker room.
 
South Dakota's lead grew to as many as 18 points following a 10-2 run that spanned five minutes in the second half. Hagedorn sparked the run with a three-pointer and Armstrong chipped in five points during the stretch, including a triple to push the advantage to 63-45 with 5:28 to play, the Coyotes' largest lead of the game.
 
Concordia-St. Paul managed to cut its deficit down to 11 points over the closing minutes of action but could not get back within single digits as the Coyotes held on for the 72-61 victory.
 
With its lone exhibition game in the books, South Dakota will tip off the 2019-20 regular season on Friday evening at 8:30 p.m. (CT) against Pacific as part of the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Coyotes will be seeking a win in their season opener for the fourth straight year as they begin the second year of the Todd Lee era.