South Dakota snapped its winning streak with a 73-61 defeat at North Dakota State Saturday afternoon in Fargo. The loss dropped USD's record to 8-9 (3-2 Summit) while the Bison won their third straight game and improved to 6-11 (3-2 Summit).
 
It was the 186th all-time meeting between the two schools that have had their fair share of hard-fought victories in the past. South Dakota lost its fifth straight game against North Dakota State and is still winless in Fargo since the 2018 season.
 
Saturday's contest was a game of runs that went back and forth. After the Coyotes scored the first basket of the game, NDSU went on a 12-0 run right after to build a double-digit lead early on. South Dakota slowly inched its way back into the game and drew within two with two and a half minutes to go in the first half. South Dakota took over from there in the final two minutes of action. Tasos Kamateros nailed a three-pointer at the top of the key to give the Coyotes the lead since the beginning of the contest. Kruz Perrott-Hunt went on a 7-0 run by himself to end the half including a jumper in the lane with two seconds left to close out the half. After being down 21-25 with under three minutes to go in the first, USD ended the half on a 12-0 run to take a 33-25 lead into the locker room. Perrott-Hunt led the team with 19 points after the first 20 minutes of play.
 
The second half was a different story as NDSU turned on the heat offensively and locked down defensively. A 9-0 run right out of the gate gave the Bison the lead back just three minutes into the second half. Both sides traded baskets throughout the half, but South Dakota still had the upper hand midway through the final half after three free-throws by Perrott-Hunt. A.J. Plitzuweit made a tough jumper in the paint to give USD a one-point advantage with five minutes to go in the game, and the Bison went on one final run to seal the deal. NDSU closed out the game with a 12-0 run and iced the game at the free-throw line to run away with the game. South Dakota missed its last seven field goals to end the game.
 
Perrott-Hunt was on pace to break his career-best in scoring, but NDSU stepped up and slowed him down in the second half. The junior finished with 26 points on 10-of-22 shooting and made all three of his three-point attempts. He also led the team with three assists on the afternoon. Kamateros dropped 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting and 3-of-6 from the arc. He tied with Mason Archambault for the team-lead with seven rebounds. After Perrott-Hunt and Kamateros, the Coyotes were not able to get much help on the offensive end. Plitzuweit was the next highest scorer with six points and Paul Bruns and Miles Branch had five each. Branch picked up his first points as a Coyote this afternoon on a corner three early in the game. South Dakota was held to 37 percent shooting from the floor but shot 47 percent from the three-point line.
 
The Bison had four score in double-figures led by 18 points from Jacari White. Damari Thomas-Wheeler had 17 points on 4-of-9 shooting and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line. Grant Nelson scored 15 points and Boden Skunberg had 12 points to round out the double-digit scoring efforts for NDSU. Andrew Morgan recorded a game-high nine rebounds. North Dakota State shot 45.5 percent from floor and the three-point line while making 70 percent of its free-throws.
 
South Dakota gets a week off as they prepare for a three-game homestand in the next two weeks. The homestand begins with South Dakota State on Jan. 14 in Vermillion. The Jacks won their game at North Dakota this afternoon by one point. The game against the in-state rival is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.