VERMILLION, S.D.—Denver guard Tevin Smith scored a game-high 20 points and the Pioneers made 13-of-19 shots in the second half to pull away from South Dakota for a 75-60 win Thursday inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
 
It was Denver's first win against South Dakota in 10 tries. The Pioneers ended the streak by beating the Coyotes at their own game – three-point shooting. Denver made a season-high nine 3-pointers on 16 attempts while South Dakota made 8-of-29.
 
Denver (12-9) has won two in a row to get to 3-5 in Summit play. South Dakota (8-11) has lost three in a row to fall to 3-4 inside the Summit.
 
The Coyotes have failed to top 64 points in their last four games and a better effort on the offensive end was needed to keep up with the Pioneers, who rank in the top-10 nationally in field goal shooting. Denver led 31-30 at the break and the game was tied at 40-40 five minutes into the second half. But the Pioneers scored on 13 of 15 possessions over the next 10 minutes to gain a 68-51 advantage.
 
Marko Lukic began that rally with a 3-pointer and scored nine of his 15 points off the bench in that 10-minute span. Smith also had a triple and nine points during the run. A pair of turnovers, and Denver committed 16 during the game – were the Pioneers' only blemishes.
 
South Dakota got 14 points from Mason Archambault, his second-highest tally of the season, while AJ Plitzuweit and Kruz Perrott-Hunt had 13 and 10, respectively. But the guard trio was 13-of-35 from the field and the Coyotes shot 37 percent as a team.
 
South Dakota stays home to host Omaha Saturday at 1 p.m. The Mavericks (7-13, 3-5 Summit) dropped an 84-61 decision to South Dakota State in Brookings Thursday.