BROOKINGS, S.D. – The South Dakota men's basketball team put South Dakota State's 18 game Summit League home win streak in severe jeopardy but saw the Jacks slip by in the final minutes, 94-89, Saturday in a South Dakota Showdown Series contest presented by South Dakota Corn.
Junior
Cody Kelley, playing in Frost Arena for the first time, poured in a career-high 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting. He went toe-to-toe with SDSU's Mike Daum who finished with 25 points including the 3,000
th of his career.
The Coyotes (11-16, 5-9 Summit) ran out to a 16-point lead in the first half behind a scorching-hot 64.5 percent shooting (17-of-30) including 11-made 3-point field goals. Senior
Logan Power was a big part of the first-half run, going 3-of-5 from deep and matched a career-high of 11 points in the stanza.
A layup from junior
Tyler Peterson pushed the Coyote lead to 16 points at 55-39 with 1:38 remaining in the half. The Jackrabbits closed the half with five-straight points as USD entered intermission leading 55-44.
South Dakota State (23-7, 13-2) knotted the game at 63 with 13:37 remaining off a 19-8 run to set up a wild finish that saw seven tie scores and five lead changes in the half.
With the lead bouncing back-and-forth, Peterson gave the Yotes their final lead of the game on a pair of free throws at 85-84 with 1:12 to play. Daum, the reigning Summit League Player of the Year, answered with a jumper just 10 seconds later.
Unable to convert on the ensuing offensive possession, or get a quick steal, South Dakota was forced to foul with 18 seconds remaining. South Dakota State went 8-of-8 from the free throw line in the final 18 seconds to slip past the Coyotes 94-89.
Joining Kelley and Power in double figures were Simpson with 19 points,
Trey Burch-Manning with 17 points and Peterson with 14 points.
Stanley Umude led the Coyotes with eight rebounds while
Brandon Armstrong dished a career-high five assists.
Tevin King, who was a big part of the Jackrabbits second-half run, totaled 22 points with Skyler Flatten adding 18 points. David Jenkins Jr. was just 2-of-8 from the field for 11 points, hitting seven free throws.
South Dakota finished the game shooting 55.4 percent from the field on 31-of-56 field goal attempts and tied a season-best of 14 made 3-point field goals. The Jackrabbits countered at 32-of-57 from the field for 56.1 percent.
South Dakota closes its regular season with a pair of home games beginning Thursday with North Dakota State. Tipoff from the Sanford Coyote Sports Center is scheduled for 8 p.m.
